Candidate’s separate bank account and result mandatory by 2 pm, Election Commission’s new amendments

Karachi: The Election Commission has approved the change in 18 clauses of the election rules. Objections can be filed on the amended rules within fifteen days. The Election Commission has also issued 5 new forms.

According to the Election Commission of Pakistan, there has been a change in the bank account rules for candidates for election expenses, according to which the candidate will have to open a separate bank account for the election expenses, joint account of the candidate will not be acceptable.

The Returning Officer will provide the result to the candidate at the office of the District Election Commission, the postal ballots will be sealed in separate packets and sent to the concerned RO. If the postal ballot is not received by the RO before Election Day, the votes will not be counted, while in case of delay in the result till 2 pm, the RO will immediately inform the Election Commission and explain the reason for the delay while in the presence of the candidate. The result will be handed over to him.

According to the Election Commission, the RO will prepare and seal the Forms 47, 48, 49 for the results themselves, the candidate will be obliged to provide the complete details of the election expenses and the details of the financial expenses on the election campaign.

Candidates will be required to open a separate bank account before submitting their nomination papers. Election petitions can be filed for Rs.1 lakh. The Election Commission will give a decision on the case in 180 days.

A fine of 10,000 to 50,000 will be imposed for seeking adjournment during the hearing. Political parties will be obliged to inform the Election Commission 15 days before the intra-party election, while they will be obliged to submit the details within 7 days.