PAKISTAN ELECTION COMMISSION CLOSES NOMINATION LIST

C O N F I D E N T I A L ISLAMABAD 004167 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/27/2017 TAGS: PGOV PK SUBJECT: PAKISTAN ELECTION COMMISSION CLOSES NOMINATION LIST REF: A. ISLAMABAD 4094 ¶B. ISLAMABAD 4148 Classified By: Ambassador Anne W. Patterson, Reasons 1.4 (b),(d) ¶1. (U) Pakistan's Election Commission (ECP) accepted nominations from forty-one presidential candidates, including President Pervez Musharraf and Pakistan People's Party (PPP) in-country leader Amin Fahim, by the noon September 27 filing deadline. These 41 included candidates from Islamabad (13), Punjab (11),Sindh (14),and the Northwest Frontier Province (3). ¶2. (U) The Election Commission will vet the candidates by September 29 and then oversee the October 6 voting process in the National and Provincial Assemblies. The Supreme Court is expected to hear final arguments September 28 in the bundle of cases challenging Musharraf's eligibility to be a candidate for re-election. ¶3. (U) Opposition parties continue to debate whether to resign from the National and Provincial Assemblies in advance of the presidential vote. Members of Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-N party and some members of the MMA religious block parties are already tendering their resignations to party leaders throughout the country. Extensive road closures and security checkpoints in Islamabad prevented any significant demonstrations today. ¶4. (C) Comment. At an iftar hosted by outgoing ISI Chief Kayani September 26, Musharraf defended his role in bringing real democracy to Pakistan. But the government remains focused on whether the PPP will resign from the National Assembly and weaken Musharraf's credibility in winning re-election. Opposition parties have threatened to resign in the past without following through, and it is difficult to see how the PPP can walk out when Fahim is an alternative candidate. All eyes will be on tomorrow's expected Supreme Court decision on Musharraf's eligibility. End comment. PATTERSON