ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday refused to entertain a Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) plea seeking an extension in the schedule of the Senate elections, reported citing sources. According to sources, the ECP has approached PPP Secretary General Nayyar Hussain Bukhari informing that they had received his letter seeking an extension in the schedule of the elections of the lower house of the Parliament.
“We have already issued a schedule of the Senate elections and it will be difficult to amend it now,” they said quoting the ECP officials. We will cooperate with the PPP if it faces any difficulty during the election process, the election body assured the PPP leader. The PPP leader, however, refused to accept a verbal explanation on the matter and said that they had reservations over the process and they should be addressed in a written form.
It is pertinent to mention here that earlier in the day, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) expressed reservations over the Senate election schedule issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). The reservations were raised by the Secretary-General of the PPP Nayyar Bukhari in a letter penned to the chief election commissioner.
Only two days have been given for filling the nomination papers on short notice. “Is it possible to get done all the matters including bank accounts, scrutiny of the candidates and others within two days”, he asked. It is not possible for a party like PPP to finalize these matters within the given deadline, the letter read. Bukhari has requested the chief election commissioner to look into the matter.