[🇵🇰] Pakistan General Elections -- 2024

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Governor administers oath to 18-member Punjab cabinet​

Punjab Governor Balighur Rehman has administered oath to the 18-member provincial cabinet.

The ceremony was held at the Governor House in Punjab where the newly appointed provincial ministers were sworn in. Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz also attended the ceremony.

The ministers include Marriyum Aurangzeb, Syed Muhammad Ashiq Hussain Shah, Muhammad Kazim Pirzada, Rana Sikandar Hayat, Khawaja Imran Nazeer, Khawaja Salman Rafique, Zeeshan Rafique, Bilal Akbar Khan, Sohaib Ahmed Malik, Azma Zahid Bukhari, Bilal Yasin, Ramesh Sindh Arora, Khalil Tahir, Faisal Ayub, Shafay Hussain, Sher Ali Gorchani, Sohail Shoukat Butt and Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman.

 

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PTI’s Omer Ayub Khan picked as opposition leader in NA: Barrister Gohar​

PTI’s Barrister Gohar Ali Khan says incarcerated leader Imran Khan has chosen Omer Ayub Khan as the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly.

In a media talk outside the Adiala Jail following a meeting with Imran, he said parliamentary affairs of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were discussed with the PTI chief. Barrister Gohar said his party had reservations with the ECP verdict on allocation of reserved seats.

“We already filed a petition in the Peshawar High Court and will now also approach the Sindh and Lahore high courts,” he said.

 

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Pildat recommends thorough and impartial investigation into election-related matters​

The Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (Pildat) has recommended that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) conduct a “thorough and impartial investigation” into several election related matters.

These include delays in the transmission, consolidation and announcement of provisional results, and the failure to publish signed copies of forms 45, 46, 48 and 49 within 14 days of polling day as required under the Elections Act, 2017, and the lack of contingency planning to meet result issuance deadlines in case of the EMS inoperability.

Pildat further recommends that election tribunals should be allowed to resolve disputes on a case-by-case basis
“Pildat is deeply concerned that only two Election Tribunals have been constituted in Punjab compared to eight constituted after 2018 general election and nine reportedly requested by the ECP this time,” according to an assessment by the group.

It also demanded that a Commission of Enquiry be formed similar to the one formed to probe the 2013 election

 

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Feb 8 elections recorded lowest fairness score since 2013: Pildat​

The Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT) has released its assessment of the 2024 General Election, indicating a concerning decline in fairness scores compared to previous election cycles.

The assessment was based on an independent analysis by Pildat, alongside a questionnaire scored by politicians, lawyers, activists, retired bureaucrats and military officials, and politically aware youth. The assessment was divided into three parts; the pre-polling process, polling on election day, and the post-polling process.

The report — a copy of which is available with Dawn.com — highlighted key issues including political repression, suspension of mobile and internet services on polling day, delay in announcement of election results, delay in publishing the results of Forms 45, 46, 48 and 49 on the website of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), and a delay in allocating reserved seats to the Sunni Ittehad Council.

The pre-poll phase — which dealt with questions about the impartiality of key institutions such as the judiciary, the ECP, caretaker governments and intelligence agencies — scored 50 per cent, matching the score of the 2018 election but lower than 62 per cent scored by the 2013 election.

The overall score of the second phase stood at 40 per cent, matching the 2018 election score but significantly lower than the 2013 election score of 50 per cent. This phase assessed the voting process itself, as well as the counting of votes.

The post-poll phase also scored 40 per cent, an “an all-time low score which mirrored that of the 2002 general election which had seen unprecedented post-poll rigging in recent years,” the Pildat report said

 

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Outgoing senators call for strengthening democratic norms​

The outgoing senators have called for further strengthening the democratic norms and joint efforts to steer the country out of economic crises, Radio Pakistan reports.

In her farewell speech, Dr Mehr Taj Roghani stressed the need to adopt austerity measures to curtail the expenditure of the country. She said that there should be a complete ban on free petrol, electricity and other facilities being provided to the high officials.

Maula Bakhsh Chandio emphasised that the bitterness of the past should be set aside to move forward and put the country on the path of development and prosperity, the report stated.

Speaking on a point of order, Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed emphasised the need for enhancing trade and economic relations with the neighbouring countries, especially Afghanistan.

 

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PTI’s Ali Muhammad advises incoming KP govt to never compromise on honesty, competence​

PTI MNA Ali Muhammad Khan has advised the incoming Khyber Pakhtunkhwa cabinet to “never compromise” on honesty, competence, protection of party ideology and consideration for the party workers and the public.
In a post on X, Khan congratulated the ministers-designate and said, “Hope you will never allow a compromise on these three guidelines in your respective ministries and provincial government.”

 

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PHC bars oath-taking of lawmakers on reserved seats denied to SIC till tomorrow


The Peshawar High Court has barred MNAs-elect, notified on reserved seats denied to the Sunni Ittehad Council, from taking oath until tomorrow.

The directive was issued on a petition filed by the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) — the new home of the PTI — against the Election Commission of Pakistan’s decision to reject the allocation of reserved seats to the party.

The SIC plea was taken up by a two-member PHC bench today. The court issued a pre-admission notice to the ECP and directed it to submit its response in the case. It also halted the oath-taking of lawmakers until tomorrow.

The bench further referred the case to the PHC chief justice for the formation of a larger bench.

It must be noted that the National Assembly is set to convene tomorrow and lawmakers on reserved women and minority seats are expected to be sworn in.

 

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ECP seeks PML-N’s nominations for women reserved seats in NA​

The Election Commission of Pakistan has sought additional lists for women reserved seats in the National Assembly from the PML-N, APP reports.

The PML-N’s priority list for NA in Punjab was depleted, prompting the ECP to seek nomination papers for nine more seats. These papers will be accepted based on the new priority list provided by the PML-N.

Earlier, the ECP released a schedule pertaining to the allocation of extra women reserved seats after it refused to allocate the same to the Sunni Ittehad Council.

According to the schedule, the issuance of the public notice is set for Thursday, with PML-N’s nominated candidates to submit their nomination papers to the Joint Election Commissioner of Punjab by March 9.

The preliminary list of candidates is slated for release on March 10, followed by the completion of the scrutiny of nomination papers by March 12. Appeals regarding the acceptance or rejection of nomination papers can be lodged till March 14.
The Appellate Tribunal will announce its verdict on the appeals by March 16.

The revised list will then be published on March 18, and candidates will have until March 19 to withdraw their nomination papers