Expresses displeasure over no response from ECP to his Feb 8 letter.
ISLAMABAD - President Dr Arif Alvi has invited the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of Pakistan, Sikandar Sultan Raja, for an urgent meeting on February 20 2023, at Aiwan-e-Sadr, for consultation towards announcing a date or dates for general elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces.
The Punjab and KP assemblies were dissolved on Jan 18 and Jan 14, respectively, after the PTI chief had announced that his governments in the two provinces would dissolve their assemblies to pave the way for fresh elections.
Snap elections have long been a demand of the PTI since ex-premier Imran Khan was ousted in a vote of no-confidence. Imran insists that only a government with the mandate can carry out the tough decisions required to get the country out of the economic morass it is currently in.
According to an official statement issued by the President’s Office, the meeting will focus on the consultation on the terms of Section 57(1) of the Elections Act, 2017, which provides that the president shall "announce the date or dates of the general elections after consultation with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP)."
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In his letter to the CEC, the President said that since his letter dated 8th February, some substantial developments particularly the judgment of the Lahore High Court and recent observations of the Supreme Court of Pakistan had taken place.
In his letter, the President expressed displeasure over the alleged apathy and inaction on the part of the Commission that didn’t respond to his earlier letter as yet.
The President stated that he had waited anxiously that the Commission would realize its constitutional duties to proceed and act accordingly, but he was extremely dismayed by the ECP’s poignant approach on this important matter.
In his letter, the President once again reminded the ECP that being conscious of his constitutional responsibility of preserving, protecting and defending the Constitution, he was inviting the CEC for an urgent meeting on February 20, 2023 in his office to consult on the date or dates of the general elections.
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Earlier this month, the president had urged the electoral watchdog to “immediately announce” the dates for elections in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) and Punjab, warning that the Constitution did not allow for any delays as they would cause “serious long-term setbacks to democracy”. President Alvi had also stressed the need for putting an end to the “dangerous speculative propaganda” about both the provincial assembly and general polls.
In a letter to the CEC, the president highlighted the “relevant provisions of the Constitution” after the “dissolution of [the] two provincial assemblies … and consequential elections to be held there”. Earlier this month, the LHC had directed the electoral watchdog to immediately announce the date for elections in Punjab. Meanwhile, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial stated that the “solution of all issues of the country is only possible through the people’s decision”. It is to be mentioned here that President on February 8, had written a letter to the Election Commission of Pakistan and urged it to “immediately announce” the date for polls in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab and put an end to “dangerous speculative propaganda” on both the provincial assembly and general elections.In the first letter addressed to the CEC, Alvi said that the election of an assembly is to be held within 90 days of the dissolution as provided by Article 224(2) of the Constitution. The president conveyed that it was ultimately the commission, which if it failed to discharge its functions and duties, was to be held responsible and answerable for the violation of the Constitution of the country. “I am of the firm view that there are no such circumstances as may furnish any justification for delaying or postponing of elections, in fact if such postponements of constitutionally mandated elections are evaluated throughout the world in recent history, they have morphed into serious long term set-backs to democracy,” he stated. The ruling coalition, however, has insisted that the country cannot afford separate polls, confirming its intention that elections in Punjab and KP within 90 days were not going to happen.
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