The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will announce the schedule for Senate elections 2021 on February 11 though it has started issuing nomination papers for the candidates from today (Thursday), reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

According to a press release issued by the ECP, nomination papers for the two Senate seats of Islamabad can be obtained from Election Commission Secretariat in the federal capital.

For provincial Senate seats, nomination papers can be received from the offices of the respective provincial election commissions.

The candidates have been asked to attach party tickets while submitting the nomination papers. Independent candidates do not need to do so.

In addition, candidates were reminded to set up a special account for this purpose at any branch of any scheduled bank for their election expenses as their account number should be mentioned in the nomination papers.

The ECP further added it is important to prepare in advance. According to the law, a candidate is not allowed to make his election expenses from any bank account other than this particular bank account. 

The candidates were also directed to get open an account in their name with cash not more than Rs1.5 million, the limit fixed by the ECP for the candidates as election expenditure.

The move from the ECP as the government had introduced the 26th Constitutional Amendment Bill in the National Assembly. Federal Law Minister Farogh Naseem tabled the in the lower house which sought the Senate elections by open vote.

The government had also moved the Supreme Court seeking its opinion about the mechanism of voting for the elections of the Upper House of the Parliament.