A visible surge was witnessed in the number of minorities candidates from province of Punjab coupled with the federal capital that showed interest to come forward and contest in the upcoming general elections raising the number from 56 in last polls to 232 this time.
According to official data of ECP, a total of 625 minorities candidates filed nomination papers to returning officers for contesting general elections 2018 for National Assembly as well as provincial assembly slots as compared to 310 in general elections 2013. As many as 154 candidates are in the run to get a seat in the National Assembly while 471 are willing to book their seat in provincial houses.
About 73 minorities candidates submitted nomination papers from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including Federally Administered Tribal Areas, as compared to 70 in the 2013 elections five years back. While a sneak dip was observed in the number of candidates from Balochistan. Only 56 candidates filed nomination papers for provincial house as compared to 61 in 2013.
Whereas in Sindh, the number of candidates also dropped from 123 in 2013 to 110 for the general polls of 2018. Overall the total number of candidates who filed nomination papers for grabbing a slot in national and provincial houses has dropped from 28,302 in last general elections to 21,482 for the upcoming general elections scheduled to be held next month.