FAFEN urges ROs to issue decisions on rejection of nomination papers

ISLAMABAD: The Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) has urged the returning officers (ROs) to issue detailed decisions on the rejection of candidates’ nomination papers for the 2024 general election.

In a statement, FAFEN said that the issuance of decisions was necessary to ensure transparency and accountability in the electoral process.

FAFEN, a network of civil society organizations working for electoral reforms, said that the ROs can only reject the nomination papers under specific provisions of the Election Act 2017, and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has the authority to exercise its powers to reject the papers if they were found violating the rules.

FAFEN also said that the ROs are legally bound to issue written decisions on the acceptance or rejection of the nomination papers, as per Section 60 of the Election Act 2017.

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The network added that the decisions should be made public and accessible to all stakeholders, including the candidates, the media, and the voters.

According to FAFEN, the rejection rate of the nomination papers for the 2024 election was 12.4 percent, which is higher than the 10.4 percent rejection rate in the 2018 election, but lower than the 14.6 percent rejection rate in the 2013 election.

FAFEN said that the reasons for the rejection of the papers should be clearly stated and justified by the ROs.