Presidential election to be held on Sept 4

• Nomination papers to be filed with presiding officers by Aug 27, scrutiny will be held on Aug 29 while final list will be published on Aug 30

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday announced that the presidential election will be held on September 4.

The electoral body issued a schedule which stated that the nomination papers for the presidential polls can be filed with the presiding officers in Islamabad and the four provinces by noon of August 27.

“The scrutiny of the nomination papers will be conducted on August 29,” the notification said, adding, that “candidature can be withdrawn by noon of August 30 as the final list will be published by 1 pm on the same day”.

Moreover, the voting for the presidential election will be held in the National Assembly and the four provincial assemblies from 10 am to 4 pm on September 4.

Earlier, the ECP had said that the presidential election is likely to get delayed, as President Mamnoon Hussain completes his five-year tenure on Aug 8.

It was reported that according to the Constitution, “The presidential election must be held at least a month prior to the expiry of the incumbent’s term, which in this case would be August 8.”

Moreover, according to an ECP official, “The presidential election is held either a month after the general election, or at least a month before the expiry of the president’s tenure. However, since the national nor the provincial assemblies are not functional as yet, thus holding a presidential election on August 8 will be nearly out of the question.”

In addition to that, the ECP official had also said, “The incomplete status of the electoral college means that a schedule is unlikely to be issued by this date, putting the Aug 25 date in jeopardy as well.”