Election process to start on Monday

Pakistan's Election Commission yesterday announced the schedule for the October parliamentary elections, setting a week's time for filing of nomination papers by prospective candidates.

But elections for senate will be held on November 12, in which members of new Provincial Assemblies will form the electoral college.

The Election Commission will start allotting election symbols or logos to political parties today, EC officials said.

Nominations will be received from August 19 to 24 and their scrutiny will be completed by the end of the month, the announcement said.

Appeals against rejection or acceptance of nominations will be filed until September 4 and decided by election authorities within a week.

The final list of candidates will be published on September 13.

The polling to elect a 354-member National Assembly and four Provincial Assemblies will be held on October 10 to return Pakistan to civilian governance after three years of military rule.

Around 70 political parties have been cleared by the election commission to contest the elections, including the Pakistan People's Party-Parliamentarians (PPPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz group).

Other notables on the list include Muttahida Majlis-Amal (MMA), a united electoral alliance of six main religious parties, Pakistan Muslim League-QA, Muttahida Qaumi Movement, National Awami party, Tehrik-e-Insaaf of former cricket hero Imran Khan and Millat Party of former president Farooq Ahmed Leghari.

PPPP and PML-N, both bitter opponents of military ruler President Pervez Musharraf, are holding contacts to work out an understanding to support each other's candidates in the elections.

MMA's Qazi Hussain Ahmad, who heads Jamaat-e-Islami, and Imran Khan have also met to discuss electoral cooperation between the two sides.

Political sources said behind-the-scene efforts were under way to team up PML-QA, other pro-government PML factions and a variety of similar other parties to outvote the PPPP and PML-N.

Musharraf held a meeting here on Thursday with the head of PML (Functional) Pir Pagara, an influential spiritual leader and politician from Sindh province.

Nothing was officially said about the meeting, but Pir Pagara told reporters he discussed the political situation in the context of the forthcoming elections.

He expressed the confidence that PML factions would unify for the electoral contest.

The government had initially scheduled the senate vote to coincide with the parliamentary elections, which would have been the first time in Pakistan's political history.

"But a large number of people, the political leaders and the political parties desired that the elections to the senate be held according to the existing scheme of the constitution," the commission said.

Missing from the statement was the date on which parties would be officially allowed to start their campaigning.

Political rallies have been suspended since Musharraf came to power in a bloodless military coup three years ago.