Punjab’s provincial election commission on Friday issued the by-election schedule for the province’s constituencies whose representatives were disqualified in the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling of Sept 20.
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Fakhruddin G Ibrahim visited the office of the provincial election commission in Lahore.
It was announced on the occasion that nomination papers of candidates for the by-elections on constituencies whose representatives were recently disqualified over holding dual nationality could be filed on Oct 8 and Oct 9.
The candidates’ papers would be scrutinized on Oct 10 and Oct 11 whereas the elections would be held on Oct 17.
The constituencies where by-elections would take place include NA-107 Gujrat-IV, NA-162 Sahiwal-III, PP-26 Jhelum-III, PP-122 Sialkot-II, PP-144 Lahore-VIII and PP-92 Gujranwala-II.
On Sept 20, the Supreme Court had disqualified 11 members of parliament and provincial assemblies for holding dual nationality.
The disqualified lawmakers would be facing legal proceedings by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) which may entail a punishment of up to seven years and also require them to reimburse all monetary benefits drawn by them up to the date they occupied public office.
This is waste of time and public money when the term of assemblies expires in less than six months. It is time to call general elections and not waste public money on by elections.
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