The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has published a list of candidates who have submitted nomination papers for contesting polls from National Assembly constituencies in the elections.
The Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) has obtained the data of all aspiring candidates from the ECP website and found out that 40 percent male and 42 percent female candidates are without National Tax Numbers (NTNs), says a press release issued on Tuesday.
The ECP data indicates that only 4,120 candidates (60.4pc) possess their NTN certificates, while 2,699 (39.6pc) are not registered taxpayers. Gender-wise, 2,599 of 6,581 male candidates (39.5 pc) and 100 of 238 female candidates (42 pc) do not have NTN certificates.
The profile of every candidate contains a form from the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), mentioning the NTN and the status of the candidate.
According to the ECP’s data, a total of 6,819 candidates are eligible to contest the elections on NA seats in 272 constituencies. A total of 3,335 candidates (49 pc of the total) have filed their candidacy from Punjab, followed by Sindh (1,643 or 24 pc), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (870 or 13 pc), Federally Administered Tribal Areas (400 or 6 pc), Balochistan (378 or 6 pc), Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) (147 or 2 pc) and the Frontier Regions (46 or 1 pc).
Out of a total of 6,819 candidates, only 238 (3.5 pc) are women, while the remaining 6,581 (96.5 pc) are male candidates.
Out of a total of 6,819 candidates, 4,120 (60.4 pc) have NTN certificates, while the remaining 2,699 (39.6 pc) have no NTNs.
Region-wise, FATA has the highest percentage of candidates (259 out of 400, or 65 pc) having no NTNs, followed by Balochistan (196 out of 378, or 52 pc), KP (428 out of 870, or 49 pc), Frontier Regions (20 out of 46, or 44 pc), Sindh (653 out of 1,643, or 40 pc), Punjab (1,100 out of 3,335, or 33 pc) and ICT (43 out of 147, or 29 pc).
As many as 3,982 (60.5 pc) male candidates have got their NTN certificates, while the remaining 2,599 (39.5 pc) do not have NTNs.
Out of the 238 female candidates, 138 (58 pc) have NTNs, whereas the remaining 100 (42 pc) have no NTNs.
It is mind boggling how Election Commission has allowed people with no NTNs to contest elections. How this corrupt political system can be cleaned without taking the very first step in the right direction.
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