ISLAMABAD, July 10: President Pervez Musharraf on Wednesday announced that the general elections to the National Assembly, the Senate and provincial assemblies will be held on October 10, 2002.

The official announcement said: “The President and Chief Executive is pleased to announce that the general elections to the National Assembly, provincial assemblies and the Senate of Pakistan, shall be held on October 10, 2002.”

Elections to both the upper and lower chambers of parliament as well as the provincial assemblies will be held the same day.

The president has also amended the Representation of People Act, requiring the Election Commission to announce the schedule for the election within 30 days.

He also amended section 11(b) of the Representation of People Act, providing that the Election Commission would have seven days for scrutinizing the nomination papers. Previously, the EC had only two days.

Under the Supreme Court judgment, the Chief Executive was required to fix a date for holding of elections, not later than 90 days, before the expiry of three-year period given to the military government.

According to the SC judgment, the validity of the present regime “is inter-linked and intertwined” with the holding of elections before Oct 11, 2002.

The Chief Election Commissioner Justice Irshad Hasan Khan told Dawn the Election Commission would now announce election schedule.

The CEC said that he had already requested all the chief justices of high courts to recommend the names of returning officers for the forthcoming general elections.

He said the recommendation of chief justices of provincial high courts with regard to the returning officers were expected to be received in ten days.

It is for the second time in the nation’s history that the elections to the National Assembly and provincial assemblies are being held the same day. However, this is for the first time that election to the Senate will also be held concurrently.

The number of seats of the national and provincial assemblies have been increased after the delimitation of the constituencies carried out in the light of the population census.

The National Assembly seats have been increased from 217 to 357, including the sixty seats reserved for women, and 25 for technocrats.

The government has proposed to change the electoral college for the Senate under which members to the Senate of Pakistan would be elected on a proportional basis through direct election.

The government, however, announced the date for holding of Senate election without amending the existing electoral college.

A high government official, however, told Dawn that the announcement was made with a view that the proposed constitutional packages would be finalized well before the elections.

Under the proposed electoral college for the Senate, the political party would nominate Senators and the number of seats won would be determined by the percentage of total votes cast in its favour in each province. The independents, no matter how much vote they would get, would have no say in the Senate elections.

Under the existing electoral college, the provincial assemblies indirectly elect the Senators to represent the province.

The existing term of the Senate would be reduced from six to four years. The entire Senate would be re-elected at the end of each four-year term, in contrast to the present provision for a permanent house with partial re-election every three years.

The Senate will consist of one hundred members.