ISLAMABAD, 15 July — Taking a serious note of political parties nominating their candidates as zila nazims and naib zila nazims, the Election Commission yesterday gave a strong warning to all such candidates using the platform of a political party, directly or indirectly, that they would face disqualification for four years.
Chief Election Commissioner Justice Abdul Qadeer Chaudhry took notice of press reports that political parties are proposing, projecting and supporting candidates for local bodies elections of nazims/naib nazims. EC spokesman Kanwar Dilshad said that the EC is liable to take action against any candidate using the platform of a political party.
Several political parties in the recent past have openly been nominating their candidates and making adjustments, though all candidates know well the provision of law, which debars the candidates for these offices to seek nominations of their parties, or get any kind of support from them.
What has been happening in almost all the districts, it apparently violates the local government elections ordinance, which clearly spelled out conditions in this regard. The political parties have held their meetings and nominated their candidates in press conferences, and they are openly making adjustments in several key districts, though it amounts to violate the law.
The election laws and code of ethics, said Dilshad, debar the candidates to contest the polls as nominees of political parties, as the whole process is non-party based and it is so designed to introduce real democracy in the country at the grass-roots level.
Chaudhry extended yesterday the date of nomination papers for the elections. Dilshad said the date was extended to facilitate the public as now the nomination papers will be filed from July 13 to 16 and publication of notice of all the nominations papers will be made on July 17. Objections on the nomination papers will be filed by the voters on July 18 and 19 and scrutiny of nomination papers will be held from July 20- to 22.
