Following requests from several political parties, including the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has extended the deadline for filing nomination papers by two days.
The ECP said in a statement on Friday that political parties may submit a priority list for reserved seats by the same date, and candidates may now submit nomination papers until December 24.
The electoral body said that the candidature papers will be scrutinized from December 25 to December 30.
The ECP had previously said that the nomination papers would be accepted between December 20 and December 22.
The political parties, Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), PML-N, Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P), and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F), then requested an extension from the Election Commission to file their nomination papers.
In a letter to the chief election commissioner (CEC), Senator Ishaq Dar of the PML-N requested a two-day extension until December 24 for the submission of nomination papers to give candidates more time.
He observed that seven days had been set aside for the examination of documents, but just three days, beginning on December 20 had been allotted for the nomination process.
He emphasized that the nomination filing procedure necessitates the provision of several pieces of data and supporting documentation, such as no objection certificates (NOCs) from various public sector departments.
He stated, "It takes a lot of time to complete this exercise, and any delay could result in the nomination papers being rejected."
Former senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar criticized the ECP's decision, claiming that the election supervisory body extended the deadline on the PML-N’s request.
"No one should harass my beloved," he said on his X account, referring to the way the Election Commission and the judiciary treat the PML-N.