LAHORE, Aug 23: Political parties gave finishing touches to lists of their candidates on Friday so that they can submit nomination papers on Saturday, the last date set for the purpose.

Applicants approached the parliamentary boards directly as well as through friends and relatives of the board members.

The Election Commission’s decision to withdraw an earlier condition for the candidates to submit certificates of their political affiliations also, brought some relief to parties. Now the certificate can be produced subsequently, as a result of which the parties have got the right to put up covering candidates.

A covering candidate assumes the status of the official nominee of a party in case the nomination papers of the main candidate are rejected for any reason.

Many PML(N) people approached Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif in Saudi Arabia to seek their intervention. The exiled leaders issued instructions in respect of many constituencies. However, most of the decisions were taken by the parliamentary board.

The party has retained almost all loyalists though new faces have been selected for some seats.

The party could not find candidates for some seats as the potential contestants have crossed over to the PML(QA).

PML(QA) leaders Mian Mohammad Azhar, Chaudhry Shujaat Husain and Chaudhry Pervez Elahi met at the Governor’s House on Friday to finalize the list of their candidates.

This is the first time that the lists of the candidates of a party, which does not like to be called the King’s Party, were prepared at the Governor’s House.

Rawalpindi’s Sheikh Rashid has been ignored under pressure from party workers and leaders. The former minister thinks that the party needs him more than he needs the party. He believes that he can get the party two National Assembly seats.

Realizing that it has to play the role of opposition after the elections, the PML(N) has selected candidates who could bear all kinds of pressure from the establishment.

Crowds were also seen at the residence of Punjab PML(QA) president Chaudhry Pervez Elahi.

Many applicants could not be accommodated because of a flood of applications against a limited number of seats. Those who did not receive a positive response despite all efforts returned — dejected.

The PPP too finalized its candidates for seats which, so far, were lying vacant.

The ARD leaders continued their consultations on Friday for mutual adjustments. Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan is persuading both the major parties to be accommodative for themselves as well as other coalition partners.

Not all the parties in the alliance are interested in contesting the elections as most of them exist only on papers, but they want to be accommodated by the major parties.

The major parties of the alliance, on the other hand, think there is little room for adjustment with parties which have neither candidates nor public support.

The Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal and the PML(N) discussed mutual adjustments at the residence of JUP leader Pir Ijaz Hashmi.

However, MMA leader Syed Munawwar Hasan said that efforts were being to create a consensus among all the opposition parties on one opposition candidate against the government-backed contestant.

“We’ll also reach some kind of understanding with the ARD,” he said while talking to Dawn.

The MMA leader said the government had adopted different strategies for different provinces and opposition parties would also try to meet the challenge.

The GNA candidates will file papers on Saturday, but the list of its candidates will be finalized on Monday, Millat Party information secretary said.