According to Constitution , election commission is bound to hold elections with 90 days after dissolution of any provincial or national assembly of the country
The Lahore High Court has given the decision giving instructions to CEC to announce the elections’ date in Punjab . Later the Supreme Court also endorsed the LHC’s decision.
ISLAMABAD() President Dr Arif Alvi has called Sikandar Sultan Raja ,Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) on 20th February (Monday) to talk about the date of fresh general elections in the country .
In this connection the President’s office has forwarded a letter to the Chief Election Commission in which the President has asked CEC to see him at Aiwan-e-Sadr on coming Monday. The President’s Office issued an official statement that the meeting will discuss the elections date in the country especially in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the provincial assemblies were dissolved and it is the constitutional obligation of the ECP to hold the elections within 90 days after dissolution of provincial or national assembly. The Section 57(1) of the Elections Act, 2017, would also come under discussion which provides authority to the president to announce the date or dates of the general elections after consultation with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
Earlier the Lahore High Court had issued instructions to the Election Commission of Pakistan to announce the date of elections in Punjab. The Supreme Court of Pakistan has also issued a decision to implement the verdict of LHC.
In his letter to the CEC, the president expressed his displeasure with the ECP’s apparent “indifference” and inaction to the matter, adding that his letter dated February 8, had received no response.
The statement further added that the president had “waited anxiously” for the commission to realize its constitutional duties to proceed and act accordingly, but he was extremely dismayed by ECP’s poignant approach to this crucial matter.
In his letter, the president once again reminded the ECP that he was “conscious of his constitutional responsibility of preserving, protecting and defending the Constitution,” and was, thus, inviting CEC for an urgent meeting on 20th February 2023 in his office to consult on the date or dates of the general elections.
It must be noted that on February 8, President Alvi had written to the ECP, urging him to ensure that both provincial and national general elections are held within the constitutionally mandated time.
“Recent history of the world shows that delays endanger democracy in the long run,” the Presidential Office had said at the time.
It is pertinent to mention here that the Punjab and KP assemblies were dissolved by the Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on January 14 and January 18, respectively.