President Dr Arif Alvi on Monday announced April 9, 2023 (Sunday) as the date for the general elections of the provincial assemblies of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) under Section 57 (1) of Elections Act, 2017
He also asked the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to issue an election programme in accordance with Section 57(2) of the Act
In his letter to the Chief Election Commissioner of Pakistan (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja, the president said that he was under oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of Pakistan under Article 42 read with the third Schedule of the Constitution
The president wrote that there being no restraining order from any of the judicial fora, there was no impediment in invoking the power and authority vested in him under Section 57 (1) of Elections Act, 2017, empowering him to "announce the date or dates of the general elections after consultation with the Commission"
Therefore, he added, he had felt it necessary to perform his constitutional and statutory duty to announce the date of elections to avoid the infringement and breach of the Constitution and law i
e
, holding of elections not later than ninety days
Read ECP again excuses itself from consulting president over polls The president further said that the governors of Punjab and K-P were not performing their constitutional duties for appointing a date and alleged that the election regulatory body too was shying away from playing its role on the matter
“Both the constitutional offices are placing the ball in each other's court [
] thus, resulting in delay and creating a serious danger that constitutional provisions may be violated”, he said
President Alvi pointed out that the ECP had already indicated the possible dates of elections in its various communications to the constitutional functionaries showing its own responsibility of holding the elections within 90 days of the dissolution of the assemblies
It may be noted that President Alvi on Friday had invited the CEC for an ‘urgent meeting’ on February 20 for consultations on the dates for the polls in K-P and Punjab
However, on Sunday, the ECP had responded to the letter saying it could not enter into consultations with him over provincial assembly elections as the matter was still subjudice
| Date: | 21-Feb-2023 | Reference: | View Original Link |
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