New Delhi, Jan 1 (IANS): Pakistan’s returning officers (ROs) have rejected the nomination paper of at least 3,240 candidates aspiring to contest the elections at national and provincial levels, media reports said.

Pakistan media reports said that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has confirmed that 1,024 candidates, 934 male and 90 female, were denied eligibility to contest National Assembly elections.

“2,216 individuals, 2,081 men and 135 women, failed to secure approval for the provincial assembly race. In total, 3,015 men and 225 women couldn't obtain ROs' approval,” media reports said.

Reports said that out of 25,951 submissions (24,698 men and 1,253 women), the ROs green-lighted 22,711 candidates, including 21,684 men and 1,027 women. For the National Assembly, 6,449 candidates, comprising 6,094 men and 355 women, received approval.

“The ROs accepted 16,262 nominations for various provincial assembly seats, including 15,590 men and 672 women. Punjab witnessed the highest number of rejections (521) for National Assembly nominations, followed by Sindh (166), Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (152), Balochistan (92), and Islamabad Capital Territory (93),” media reports said.

Reports said that for provincial assembly seats, the ROs rejected nomination papers of 943 candidates in Punjab; 520 in Sindh; 386 in Balochistan and 367 in the K-P, making a total of 2,216. The total number of people who filed nomination papers to contest provincial assembly elections was 18,478.

The Pakistani media reports suggest that post-scrutiny phase allows candidates to appeal the ROs' decisions before appellate tribunals until January 3, 2024.

“These appeals will be decided by January 10, 2024, following which a revised list of candidates will be published on January 11, 2024,” media reports said.