Presidential Polls in Pakistan: Election Commission Unveils Election Schedule

The notice and schedule for the March 9 presidential elections were released by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), according to Geo News in Pakistan on Friday. The notification from the ECP states: “Public Notice for election to the office of the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is hereby issued and in relation thereto the following program for receipt of nomination papers, scrutiny of nomination papers, withdrawal of candidature, publication of a list of validly nominated candidates, retirement and polling day. This is in accordance with the provisions contained in paragraphs 1 and 3 of the Second Schedule of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973 read with clauses (3) and (4) of Article 41 of the Constitution.”

The ECP stated that by March 2 before 12 p.m. (local time), candidates for Pakistan’s most important constitutional office may file their nomination papers with the presiding officers in Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, and Quetta, according to Geo News. Pakistan’s electoral watchdog announced that the nomination papers submitted by presidential candidates will be examined by returning officers on March 4; furthermore, the candidates may withdraw their candidacies the following day. The list of legitimately nominated candidates will be made public by the ECP that same day, and March 6 has been set aside as the retirement date.

According to a report by Geo News, the National Assembly and all provincial assemblies will hold voting for Pakistan’s next president from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. local time. Notably, PPP chairman Asif Ali Zardari has already been named the coalition’s unanimous choice for Pakistan’s top constitutional office by the six-party alliance, which is expected to form a coalition government at the Center under the leadership of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Shehbaz Sharif. A senator’s vote counts as one under the formula used for Pakistan’s presidential election, but in the Sindh Assembly, a single vote is equivalent to almost four, according to Pakistan-based Dawn.

A senator’s vote counts as one under the formula used for Pakistan’s presidential election, but in the Sindh Assembly, a single vote is equivalent to almost four, according to Pakistan-based Dawn. Zardari stands to gain from this formula in the upcoming presidential contest. Notably, after finishing his five-year term on September 9, 2023, Pakistan’s current president, Arif Alvi, has already been in office for a longer period of time, as reported by Dawn. The Pakistani President shall serve for a term of five years commencing on the day of his assumption of office, as stipulated in Article 44(1) of the Constitution. He will, nevertheless, hold the position until a replacement is selected.

The term-wise data of senators suggests that the PML-N and the PPP will lose a large chunk of their members–69 per cent and 57 per cent, respectively as they will retire on March 11 after completing their tenure, Dawn reported. However, both the PML-N and PPP will be able to add to their tally in the Senate after the elections held on February 8.