By-election of provincial assembly seat PS-11 will be held on October 17 for which the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has issued a notification announcing the election schedule.
This seat fell vacant after the denotification of Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) Member of Provincial Assembly (MPA) Moazim Ali Abbasi by the apex court on the application of MPA Nida Khuhro.
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has not finalised its candidate for the slot so far, whereas, Abbasi has started meetings with different like-minded political parties. PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is expected to reach Bhutto House in Naundero today on a four-day visit during which he is also expected to consult the party’s elected leaders about awarding party ticket.
According to the election commission schedule, nomination forms will be filed between September 13 to 15 and a list of the contesting candidates will be published on September 15. The forms will be scrutinised on September 19. The last date for filing of appeals against decisions of the returning officer rejecting or accepting the nomination papers will be September 23. The last date for deciding of appeals by the Appellate Tribunal will be September 26. Publication of revised list of candidates will be on September 27. The last date for withdrawal of candidate/s and publication of revised list of candidates will be September 28. Allotment of election symbols to contesting candidates will be made on September 29.
PPP has not so far finalised its candidates for PS-11 but even then PPP Sindh Chief Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, Political Secretary to Bilawal, Jameel Soomro, ex-Member of National Assembly (MNA) Shahid Bhutto, Tariq Anwar Siyal and Safdar Ali Mithani have filed their applications for seeking the ticket and are lobbying to have the support of the party’s elected leaders, reliable sources claimed. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is likely to finalise the name of the lucky candidate for PS-11, which the party lost to Abbasi and brought a bad name to it. He is also expected to address a party worker’s convention in Garhi Khuda Bux on September 15 for which local party activists have already started meetings to make it a grand success.
