Daily Times

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, a private TV channel reported.

According to reports, the ECP has approached PPP Secretary General Nayyar Hussain Bukhari, informing him that they have received his letter seeking an extension in the schedule for the elections of the Upper House of the Parliament. “We have already issued a schedule for the Senate elections and it will be difficult to amend it now,” it said. “We will cooperate with the PPP if it faces any difficulty during the election process,” the election body assured the party.

The PPP leader has, however, refused to accept a verbal explanation by the ECP on the matter and said that they have reservations over the process and that those should be addressed in a written form.

It is pertinent to mention here that the PPP has expressed reservations over the Senate election schedule issued by the ECP. The reservations have been raised by PPP Secretary General Nayyar Bukhari in a letter penned to the chief election commissioner. ”

Only two days have been given for filing the nomination papers. Is it possible to get done all the matters including bank accounts, scrutiny of the candidates and others within two days?” the letter read. “It is not possible for a party like PPP to finalize these matters within the given deadline,” the letter added, requesting the chief election commissioner to look into the matter.