ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), after appointing the caretaker chief ministers of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, is considering the preparations for the elections and by-elections to the provincial assemblies, JEE News reported Wednesday citing local media.
In this regard, Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan presided over the meeting in which it was stated that ECP has completed the preparation of election materials, polling stations and voter lists.
It was also informed that the electoral body is ready to conduct elections in the provincial assemblies after their dissolution. In the meeting, it was decided to contact the governors of both the provinces to fix the polling date for the elections in Punjab and KP. The ECP decided to release the election schedule after the verdict on polling day.
In the meeting, it was directed to speed up the preparations for the elections and complete the appointment of presiding officers and other election staff at the earliest.
The meeting was attended by Election Commission members, Provincial Election Commissioners and officials of all wings of ECP.
After the dissolution of the KP and Punjab Assemblies, the government and the opposition in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa appointed former bureaucrat Azam Khan as caretaker chief minister. However, a parliamentary panel comprising opposition and government members in Punjab failed to reach a consensus for a caretaker chief minister.
As per procedure, the matter was decided by the ECP, who nominated Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi as the caretaker Chief Minister of Punjab to lead the interim setup in the province.
The ECP is bound to hold general elections in the province within 90 days, now caretaker chief ministers have been appointed for both the provinces.
The electoral body can conduct the elections within 22 to 45 days as constitutionally at least 22 days are required to scrutinize the nomination papers of the candidates.
Candidates will be given 29 to 30 days to campaign. Considering such a timeline, it is likely that the ECP will hold elections between March 1 and April 10.
Until then, the selected nominees will serve as caretaker chief ministers until a new government is formed in the province.
