ISLAMABAD, Dec 28: As of Friday, 80 parties of the 216 registered with the Election Commission of Pakistan, have fulfilled the criterion for allocation of election symbol.

According to an ECP official, the ruling PPP has not yet provided details of its annual accounts and intra-party elections, which are a must to be declared eligible for the allotment of election symbol.

“Yes, if we implement the Political Parties Order 2002, the PPP as of today (Friday) cannot apply for the allocation of election symbol,” said the official.

He said all the other major political parties, including the PML-N, PML-Q, PTI, MQM and ANP, had already provided the mandatory details.

The PPP’s information secretary, Qamar Zaman Kaira, was not available for comment despite repeated attempts.

The official said the PPO 2002 was not implemented in letter and spirit in the 2008 election, but this time the ECP was repeatedly asking the registered parties to furnish the required information.

In a press release issued on Friday, the ECP once again reminded the parties of this legal requirement before the election.

It said the ECP had invited the parties’ attention to Article 14 of the PPO 2002 which says: “Eligibility of a political party to obtain election symbol, notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, a political party shall be eligible to obtain an election symbol for contesting elections for Majlis-i-Shoora (parliament) and provincial assemblies on submission of certificates and statement referred to in Articles 12 and 13 of the PPO.”

The article says: “Where any political party or a combination of political parties, separately or collectively, contravenes the provisions of Articles 12 or 13, it shall not be entitled to obtain an election symbol for election to the Majlis-i-Shoora (parliament) or the provincial assemblies, and the ECP shall not allocate an election symbol to such party or, as the case may be, the combination of political parties for such election.”

The Article 12 says: “The party leader of each political party shall, within seven days from completion of the intra-party elections, submit a certificate under his signatures to the Election Commission to the effect that the elections were held in accordance with the constitution of the party and this order to elect the party leader and other office-bearers at the federal, provincial and local levels, wherever applicable.”

The certificate should carry information in respect of: (a) the date of the last intra-party elections; (b) the names, designations and addresses of the party leader and all other office-bearers elected at the federal, provincial and local levels, wherever applicable; (c) the election results, including the total number of votes cast and the number of votes secured by each contestant for all of its party offices; and (d) copy of the party's notifications declaring the results of the election.

Whereas Article 13 reads: “Every political party shall, in such manner and in such form as may be prescribed or specified by the chief election commissioner, submit to the Election Commission, within 60 days from the close of each financial year, a consolidated statement of accounts of the party audited by a chartered accountant”.

The certificate should carry the information on: (a) annual income and expenses; (b) sources of its funds; (c) assets and liabilities. And the statement should be accompanied by a certificate signed by the party leader stating that: “(a) no funds from any source prohibited under this order were received by the party; and (b) the statement contains an accurate financial position of the party.”

The PPO 2002 bars parties from receiving any aid, financial or otherwise, from any government or political party of a foreign country, or any portion of its funds from foreign nationals.

The press release said the parties which failed to submit their annual statement of accounts in terms of Article 13, or failed to submit the certificate with regard to intra-party election in terms of Article 12 would not be eligible for election symbols.

It said in view of the legal position stated above, fresh applications will be invited from the parties at the time of next election for allotment of election symbols and symbols will be allotted to only those parties which fulfil the requirement of Articles 12 and 13 of the PPO 2002.

Therefore, all the parties which have not submitted their statements of accounts as well as the certificate about their intra-party elections are therefore advised to submit the same to become entitled to get election symbols before the election.