ISLAMABAD: In a new development in the ongoing controversy over the timing of the general elections, President Arif Alvi on Wednesday proposed a date for holding the elections in a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC).
The President said that in light of Article 48(5) of the Constitution, he has the power and mandate to fix a date not later than 90 days from the date of dissolution of the [Assemblies] to hold general elections. assembly.”
President Alvi said that the National Assembly was dissolved on August 9, 2023 on the advice of the then Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
According to Article 48(5), the general election of the National Assembly should be held on Monday, November 6, 2023, on the 89th day after the date of dissolution of the National Assembly.
It also read that in order to fulfill the constitutional obligations, the President invited CEC Sikandar Sultan Raja to a meeting to formulate the procedures for the implementation of the mandate to determine the constitutional intent and date. But the latter took the opposite stand. The Election Commission of Pakistan was the domain under the framework of the Constitution and Election Laws.
Further, the CEC maintained that after the publication of the Census 2023 on August 7, the duly notified delimitation of constituencies in accordance with Article 51(5) and Section 17 of the Elections Act, 2017 was in progress.
It further said that the Ministry of Law and Justice, all the provincial governments also expressed the same opinion.
Moreover, President Alvi also demanded that the general elections of the lower house of parliament and all provincial assemblies should be held on the same date.
President's letter by Syed Muhammad Wajeeh
Earlier today, federal and provincial law ministers unanimously urged all state institutions to respect the autonomy and authority of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in delimiting constituencies and determining the election schedule.
This statement on behalf of the Law Ministers was given through an official statement after the meeting chaired by the Caretaker Law and Justice Minister Ahmed Irfan Aslam in Islamabad.
Provincial Law Ministers Kunwar Dilshad (Punjab), Muhammad Umar Soomro (Sindh), Arshad Hussain Shah (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) and Amanullah Kunrani (Balochistan) participated in the meeting, which discussed issues related to the upcoming general elections. Provincial Assemblies
After Huddle’s determination, it was concluded that holding general elections and announcing election dates is the sole competence of the electoral authority of the country as per the constitution.
“The Election Commission of Pakistan is an independent constitutional body,” the statement issued by the ministry said.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) coalition government dissolved the National Assembly on August 9, while the Sindh and Balochistan Assemblies were also prematurely dissolved to allow the electoral authority to remain in the country for 60 days instead. Elections can be allowed to be held in 90 days. If the legislature completes its constitutional term.
If the elections are held within the 90-day limit, the elections will be held on November 9, 2023.
However, before dissolving the assemblies, the coalition government unanimously approved the Seventh Population and Housing Census 2023 in the Council of Common Interests (CCI) meeting.
According to Article 51 (5) of the Constitution, seats in the National Assembly will be allocated to each province and the federal capital on the basis of population as per the new census.
After the CCI’s approval, the ECP announced a schedule of new constituencies on 17 August that exceeded the constitutional limit of 90 days on 9 November, almost ensuring that the elections would be held after 90 days. It is likely to happen.
As per schedule announced by ECP:
- September 8 to October 7 – Delimitation of constituencies across the country.
- October 10 to November 8 – Proposals regarding constituencies will be presented.
- From 5th September to 7th September – Quota of National and Provincial Assemblies Constituencies will be allotted.
- August 21 – Constituency committees of all four provinces will be formed.
- August 31 – Administrative matters related to constituencies will be completed.
- November 10 to December 9 – The Election Commission will decide on objections to delimitation.
- December 14 – Final publication of delimitation.