PML-N candidates to contest Senate Polls as Independents, ECP decides

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in a meeting on Thursday (today) declared all Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) ticket holders for Senate polls as independent candidates, ARY News reported.

The decision was taken in a meeting of ECP today to look into the implications of the verdict announced by the Supreme Court on Wednesday.

The election body also decided that the schedule of the Senate elections could not be put off and the polls will be held as per the announced timetable.

The ECP also declared the PML-N candidate for PP-30 Sargodha as an independent candidate.

The Supreme Court in a judgment on Wednesday struck down a controversial amendment in Electoral Reforms Bill 2017 and ruled that a disqualified person could not lead a political party.

The three-member bench of Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar also declared that all decisions taken by Nawaz Sharif as PML-N’s president stand null and void after the judgement.

The ECP meeting today also refused to accept the PML-N tickets to the Senate candidates issued by the party’s chairman Raja Zafarul Haq.

Raja Zafarul Haq, a day after Nawaz Sharif was disqualified as party chief through the apex court order, called on the chief election commissioner to re-issue tickets to the party’s Senate candidates.

Haq, accompanied by Anosha Rahman and Tariq Fazal Chaudhary, told media outside the election commission office that as chairman of the party he too, had the authority to issue party tickets.

He said that he had submitted the authority letter and other relevant papers to the ECP.

The ECP, however, rejected the tickets issued with signatures of Raja Zafarul Haq and declared the PML-N candidates as Independents.