The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said on Friday that it has written a letter to President Dr. Arif Alvi suggesting possible dates — between April 30 and May 7 — for elections in Punjab.
Today’s meeting of the electoral body, chaired by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja, resulted in the decision.
According to a press release from the Election Commission of Pakistan, “The Election Commission has written a letter to the president in light of the Supreme Court of Pakistan’s judgment, in which the dates for holding the elections in Punjab have been offered between April 30 and May 7, 2023.”
It stated that once the president selected the election date, the commission was ready to carry out its legal and constitutional tasks.
In addition, the news release stated that the ECP has issued a letter to the governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, seeking his response regarding the date of the province’s elections.
Two days after the Supreme Court declared that the elections for the Punjab and KP assemblies should take place within the allotted 90 days, the announcement was made. However, in the event of any practical difficulties, it permitted the ECP to recommend a poll date that differs from the 90-day deadline by the “basic minimum”.
On January 14 and January 18, respectively, the assemblies for Punjab and KP were dissolved. Elections must be held in accordance with the law 90 days after the dissolution of the assembly.
That means the deadlines for holding general elections for the Punjab and KP assemblies were April 14 and April 17, respectively. However, after receiving the ECP’s recommendation, the two governors asked the commission to engage stakeholders rather than establish the dates for the elections.
At meetings with the ECP, the chief secretaries and inspectors general of the two provinces had made the case for postponing elections by claiming that they lacked sufficient police forces and discussing terrorist risks.
The finance division had also expressed its inability to provide funds and the interior ministry told the ECP that the army and civil armed forces will not be available.
A victory for the Constitution
In a video message on Twitter, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry said that his party has welcomed the electoral body’s announcement and called it a “step in the right direction”.
“We believe that the ECP took the proper decision in light of the SC’s order,” he added, elaborating that the supreme court had said in its Wednesday order that the president and ECP could go beyond the 90-day term of holding elections but that it had also used the word “bare minimum”.
Fawad stated that the president will now announce the exact date of the election.
“We congratulate the public. This is a victory for the PTI, the nation, and the Constitution.”
