Aspirants flooded Lahore's returning officer's office on Thursday, as today marks the last date for aspirants of political offices to submit their nomination papers for the upcoming general elections in the country, slated to be held on February 8, 2024.
With hopes of parliamentary seats, 121 individuals have so far filed their candidatures, vying for a slice of the 644 National Assembly and 1,883 provincial assembly seats allocated to Lahore.
The air crackled with anticipation as candidates, accompanied by enthusiastic supporters, jostled to beat the 4:30pm cut-off. Their documents will be scrutinized by officials, marking the first hurdle in their electoral journeys.
While the complete picture will emerge tomorrow when the preliminary list of candidates is published, the sheer number of hopefuls hints at a fierce battle for votes in the City of Gardens. Political veterans, young guns, and newcomers alike have thrown their hats in the ring, eager to convince Lahore's electorate of their worth.
Also Read: Key guidelines for candidates to file nomination papers for NA, PA seats
But this is just the beginning. The next few weeks will see intense scrutiny as the returning officers delve into the candidates' documents. Come January 13, the remaining contenders will breathe a sigh of relief as the Election Commission of Pakistan assigns them their official electoral symbols.
From seasoned statesmen to fresh faces, the 121 hopefuls will have just over two months to woo the city's voters and convince them that they deserve a seat at the decision-making table.
Karachi
So far, in the last two days, over 250 candidates have filed their nominations for 22 National Assembly and 47 Sindh Assembly seats.
Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Farooq Sattar, Shahida Rehmani, Nabil Gabol, Hafiz Naeem and others are expected to file their documents.
Multan
From Multan, seasoned politician Yousuf Raza Gilani of the PPP and his sons Ali Musa, Abdul Qadir, and Haider Gilani are likely to file their nomination papers today from NA-148, NA-151, NA-152 and PP-213, respectively.
Lodhran
Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party Patron-in-Chief Jahangir Khan Tareen is expected to file his documents for NA-155 Lodhran.
Quetta
In Balochistan’s capital Quetta, 50 candidates have submitted nominations for 16 seats of the National Assembly and 199 candidates have submitted nomination papers for 51 seats of the provincial assembly, as per the election commission.
More than 770 nomination papers have been issued for elections, while 19 candidates have submitted their nomination for reserved seats of the National and provincial assembly.
Also Read: Elections 2024: Nomination papers submission process kicks off
The process of submitting nomination papers to participate in the 2024 general elections started on Wednesday. The preliminary list of candidates will be released on December 23, while the scrutiny of nomination papers will be held from December 24 to 30.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has already issued guidelines for candidates to submit nomination papers. It said that nomination papers can be submitted from December 20 to 22, and the fee for obtaining the papers is fixed at Rs100.
A candidate can submit a maximum of five nomination papers with different endorsers. The fee for candidates for National Assembly seats is Rs30,000, while that for a candidate for a provincial assembly seat is Rs20,000, (both non-refundable).
The candidate could attach their income tax return documents of the last three years with the nomination papers. The basic qualification for a candidate is to be a citizen of Pakistan and not less than 25 years of age.
Sharing an update about security, Punjab Election Commissioner Saeed Gul said the Punjab top police officer -- inspector general of police (IGP) -- has assumed responsibility, while other security agencies will also remain at the ECP's disposal to ensure the security arrangements.
