ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has urged all the political parties to submit list of their candidates on general seats, showing that they have fulfilled the requirement of five percent representation of women candidates in this category.
The commission in a press release on Sunday, said the political parties, having been allocated election symbols for General Election-2024, are mandatorily required to ensure five percent representation of women candidates on general seats, under the provisions of Section 206 of the Elections Act, 2017.
Hence, all the political parties concerned are requested to submit the list of their male and female candidates on general seats, to whom party tickets have been issued, to the Election Commission within five days of this press release.
Meanwhile speaking at the seventh edition of Think Fest 2024 on Sunday, Caretaker Federal Minister for Information, Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs Murtaza Solangi said that it was in the interest of all political forces and parties concerned that general elections should be held on February 8.
The minister said it would be good for the country if the elections were held on the scheduled day i.e., Thursday, February 8.
He reminded that it was clearly written in the preamble of the Constitution that Pakistan would be run by the elected representatives.
The minister said that in the run-up to the elections, everyone was complaining about the level playing field. The Pakistan Peoples Party and the Muslim Pakistan League (N) were voicing their complaints in that regard while Maulana Fazlur Rehman also complained of a lack of level playing field in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
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“In fact, the working class of Pakistan does not have a level playing field,” Solangi maintained.
Without a fundamental change in the system enabling the common man to contest elections, there would not be a level playing field, he remarked.
The minister stressed that every political party should give its members the right to vote in the election of its office-bearers.
He said in his opinion, the yesterday’s Apex Court decision was a good precedent.
It would have been better if there were legal experts in the panel who could explain the legal position, he added.
Terming political instability and economic survival of the country main challenges, Solangi said the next government might be facing economic issues.
“We need improvement in the economy. With the principal amount of the overall budget used for servicing big loans and other payments, it is difficult to run the country,” he said.
The minister said that the agriculture contributed about a quarter of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), but the tax collection from the sector was very low. Moreover, he added, the population was increasing rapidly, which was burdening the sectors like health and education.
He said Pakistan was also bearing the brunt of climate change as well.
“We have to improve relations with our neighboring countries, as, otherwise, we cannot become economically strong,” Solangi maintained.
About the protesters from Balochistan in Islamabad, he minister said that they were offered to hold their sit-in either at F-9 Park or H-9 but they insisted on going to the D Chowk in Red Zone.
“No group, be it political or religious, is allowed to enter the Red Zone,” Solangi said.
He said the police had to take action when the protesters camping outside the National Press Club tried to enter the Red Zone. Later, the government’s negotiation committee held talks with them and then the women and children arrested by the police were released first. Another 163 people were released in the second phase and finally the remaining 34 were also set free.
