Ten candidates were left in the field for City Nazim Karachi election when nomination papers of two candidates were rejected by Returning Officer (RO) on Friday.
RO Syed Saeed Hassan rejected the nomination papers of Habib Junaidi (Awam-Dost Panel) and Khawaja Tariq Nazir (Watan-Nawaz Panel) on the last day of scrutiny of papers.
The nomination papers of Habib Junaidi were rejected for not appearing before the Returning Officer, whereas of Khawaja Tariq Nazir was rejected as his seconder had already endorsed the nomination papers of another candidate for the election.
The candidates remaining in the field for the election are Naimatullah Khan, Muslim Pervez, Syed Mustafa Kamal, Wasim Akhtar, Babar Ghauri, M A Jalil, Fauzia Wahab, Syed Zahid Ali, Syed Rizwan Akram and Dr Hanif.
Out of the four candidates nominated from Haq Parast Panel, Wasim Akhtar, Babar Ghauri and M A Jalil Syed are most likely to withdraw their nomination papers, while Mustafa Kamal would remain in the race.
However, the name of joint candidate of the opposition parties for City Nazim election is yet to be agreed upon.
The number of nomination papers rejected for reserved seats in City Council Karachi was 11, including six for labour seats, one for minority seats and four for city women seats.
A total of four nomination papers of candidates for Town Nazims were rejected. They were of Rana Safdar Ali for Town Nazim Landhi, Abdul Razzaq Baloch for Lyari, Ashfaq Mangi for Bin Qasim, whereas the nomination papers of a candidate for Site Town Nazim were also rejected.
The number of rejected nomination papers for reserved seats in town councils of city stood 13, including three for women seats, nine for labour and one for minority seats.
After the completion of scrutiny phase, appeals against rejection of nomination papers will be received on September 18.
The Election Commission will dispose of the appeals on September 20 and the candidates can withdraw from the race by September 21. The ECP will publish the final list of candidates along with the allotted symbols on September 22 and polling will be held on October 6.