President Dr. Arif Alvi on Friday invited Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raj for an urgent meeting on February 20 regarding the consultation on the date of elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab.
The meeting to be held at Aiwan-i-Sadr will discuss Section 57(1) of the Elections Act, 2017, which details that the President is mandated to announce the date of elections after consulting the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) .
Early elections have long been a PTI demand since former Prime Minister Imran Khan was ousted in a no-confidence vote. Imran insists that only a government with a mandate can make the tough decisions needed to lift the country out of the economic mire it currently finds itself in.
The Punjab and KP assemblies were dissolved on January 18 and January 14, respectively, after the PTI chief announced that his governments in both provinces would dissolve their assemblies to pave the way for fresh elections.
In his letter to the CEC, a copy of which is available on Dawn.com, the President said that since his February 8 letter, there have been some substantial developments, namely the judgments of the Lahore High Court and the Supreme Court.
Earlier this month, the LHC directed the election watchdog to immediately announce the date of the Punjab elections. Meanwhile, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial said that “all the problems of the country can only be solved by the decision of the people”.
The president expressed displeasure at the “apathy and inaction” of the commission, which has yet to respond to his earlier letter.
The President said that he was anxiously waiting for the ECP to fulfill its constitutional obligations and proceed and act accordingly, but was extremely dismayed by the commission’s “stingy approach to this important matter”.
In his letter, the President again reminded the ECP that he is “aware” of his constitutional responsibility to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution”, inviting the CEC to a meeting on February 20 in his office to consult on the date or dates of the general elections.
for the KP elections in Punjab
On 8 February, Alvi wrote a letter to the Election CommAlvi asks the ECP to “immediately announce” the date ission urging it to “immediately announce” the date of elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab and end “dangerous speculative propaganda” for both provincial assemblies and general elections.
In the first letter addressed to the CEC, Alvi said that the election of the assembly should be held within 90 days of the dissolution as stipulated in Article 224(2) of the Constitution.
The President said that it was ultimately the commission that, in the event that it failed to fulfill its functions and duties, should bear responsibility and answer for the violation of the country’s constitution.
“I am firmly of the view that there are no such circumstances that could provide justification for postponing or postponing elections, in fact, if such postponements of constitutionally mandated elections in recent history are assessed around the world, they have turned into serious long-term obstacles to democracy, ” he stated.
But the ruling coalition insisted that the country could not afford separate polls, confirming its intention to not hold elections in Punjab and KP within 90 days.
