President Arif Alvi has announced April 30 as the date for the general polls in Punjab, hours after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) proposed dates for the election in the province as directed by the Supreme Court (SC).
“President Dr. Arif Alvi has announced to hold general elections of Punjab Assembly on April 30, Sunday,” tweeted the President’s office on Friday.
Dr. Alvi’s office said that the decision was made by the president after “considering the dates proposed by the Election Commission of Pakistan”.
The ECP had earlier today suggested that the elections for the Punjab provincial assembly be held between April 30 and May 7 in a letter to President Alvi.
The Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), Sikandar Sultan Raja, presided over the third straight meeting of the Election Commission today.
After the president selects a date, “the panel is prepared to fulfill its constitutional and legal tasks,” it stated.
However, it stated that the commission is awaiting his answer in light of the SC order in its letter to Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ghulam Ali.
The dissolution of the Punjab and KP assemblies took place on January 14 and January 18, respectively, and by law, elections had to be held within 90 days of those dates.
The Supreme Court, on the other hand, ordered the president to announce the election date after consulting with the commission as a result of the governors’ failure to choose a date for the elections.
The KP governor was also required to announce a date for the elections.
