CEC announces schedule for Gilgit Baltistan polls

GILGIT: Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of the Gilgit Baltistan on Thursday announced the schedule for polls in the federally-administered area, ARY NEWS reported.

A notification issued by the CEC read that the returning officers (RO) would issue a public notice for nomination papers on July 07 with the last date of filing nominations set for July 16.

A provisional list of the nominated candidates would be published on July 17 while July 23 is being set as the last date for scrutiny of the nomination papers.

An appeal against the decision of the RO could be made by July 27 and appellate tribunals would decide on the appeal by August 03.

The final list of the nominated candidates would be published on August 04 while nomination papers could be withdrawn by August 05.

The candidates would be allotted election symbols on August 06. The chief election commissioner announced that the polling day in Gilgit Baltistan would be on August 18.

It is pertinent to mention here that President Arif Alvi on June 27 announced fresh polls in the Gilgit Baltistan (GB) on August 18.

The Legislative Assembly of the Gilgit Baltistan was dissolved after it completed its five-year tenure on 24 June.

The president announced to hold polls, under a caretaker system, in the federally-administered area to elect a new government in the region.

The federal government has already appointed Mir Afzal, former deputy inspector general of police (DIG) as the caretaker chief minister of the autonomous region