PESHAWAR
District Returning Officers (DROs) in second phase of by-election on 16 vacant National Assembly from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa scheduled for March 19, 2023 took oath of their offices as per electoral laws here on Monday. Polling in these constituencies would be held on March 19, 2023.
Provincial Election Commissioner (PEC) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Shamshad Khan administered oath to them. DROs who were sworn-in include Jehanzeb Khan (NA-5), Mohammad Iqbal (NA-6 & 7 Lower Dir), Deputy Commissioner Malakand (NA-8), Aslam Khan (NA-9 Buner), Aziz Bahadar (NA-16), Deputy Commissioner Mardan (NA-20), Saeed Ahmad Khan (NA-30 Peshawar), Deputy Commissioner Karak (NA-34 Karak) and Ajmal Hafeez for NA-40 Bajaur respectively.
While Faridullah was administered oath as DRO for NA-2 and NA-3 Swat, Rahamzada for NA-19 (Swabi) and Shahid Ali for NA-44 were already administered oath during the first phase of by-election on March 16, 2023.
DROs will now administer oaths to concerned Returning Officers (ROs) and Assistant Returning Officers (AROs) while ROs would later administer oaths to Presiding Officers (POs). According to the announced schedule Returning Officers will issue public notice on February 8, 2023 and nomination papers could be filed from February 10 to February 18, 2023.
Initial list of the aspiring candidates would be published on February 15, 2023 and their scrutiny would be carried out till February 18, 2023. Appeals against acceptance and rejection of nomination papers could be filed with the concerned Appellate Tribunal till February 22, which would decide them till February 27, 2023.
Revised list of the candidates would be issued on February 28, 2023 and nominations papers could be withdrawn till March 1, 2023 and final list of candidates would be released on March 2, 2023 and they would also be allotted electoral symbols.
