ISLAMABAD -  The Election Commission of Pakistan on Friday delisted some 284 political parties for failing to meet the requirements under the Elections Act 2017.

Under the Elections Act 2017, the political parties were required to deposit a registration fee of Rs0.2 million with the ECP along with a list of 2,000 party workers with their national identity cards and signatures but despite repeated requests these parties had paid no heed to the Election Commission’s notice, so finally these political parties were delisted from the record.

Prominent among the parties delisted by the ECP include Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan, Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, Pakistan Muslim League-Functional, the JUI-Sami, the Sunni Tehreek, Qaumi Watan Party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nazriati, Sindh National Front, Bahawalpur National Awami Party, Millat Party, Aam Aadmi Party and others.

The ECP had given December 2 deadline to the political parties to meet these requirements under the Elections Act 2017 but despite repeated notices and reminders these parties had not fulfilled these requirements and now all these parties were delisted by the ECP.

Under the constitution, these parties could approach the Supreme Court of Pakistan against the delisting. It is pertinent to mention here that all the mainstream parties including the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, the Pakistan People’s Party-Parliamentarian, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and others had already met the requirements of the ECP in this connection. The notification issued under Section 202 (2) of the Elections Act 2017 further stated that the affected political parties may appeal against the decision in the apex court within 30 days from the date of delisting.