PESHAWAR: The Election Commission of Pakistan on Tuesday announced that the independently elected candidates in the merged tribal districts could join any political party by following the relevant rules.

In a press release issued here, the ECP stated that under Rule 96(6) of the Elections Rules, 2017, an independent winning candidate could join a party of his choice by informing it about his decision, which would then be conveyed to the election commission by that party’s head in writing.

The political party would send a letter to the ECP with affidavit of the joining candidate attached, duly attested by notary public or an oath commissioner.

The release said the affidavit should be submitted with the ECP within three days of the announcement of the official results in the gazette.

It merits a mention here that six of the 16 general seats in the provincial assembly polls in the tribal districts were won by independents. These candidates won all the three seats in Khyber tribal district, one each in Mohmand, Orakzai and North Waziristan.

Published in Dawn, July 24th, 2019