Daily Times

President Dr Arif Alvi here on Monday announced April 9 as the date for holding general elections for the provincial assemblies of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a press release issued by the President’s secretariat said.

The unilateral announcement of the election date by the President came after ECP turned down his invitation for consultations on dates for elections.

According to a press release issued by the President’s Secretariat’s Press Wing, the announcement of the election date was made under Section 57 (1) of the Elections Act, 2017. Furthermore, President Alvi asked the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to “issue election programme in accordance with Section 57 (2) of the Act”.

Quoting a letter sent by Dr Alvi to the Chief Election Commissioner Sikander Sultan Raja, the statement said the president had made the decision under Section 57(1) (notification of election programme) of the Elections Act, 2017 and was asking the CEC to issue the election programme under Section 57(2) of the same Act.

Saying he was “under oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution” under its Article 42 (oath of the president), he defended his announcement by adding that there was “no impediment in invoking the power and authority vested in him” as there was “no restraining order from any of the judicial fora”.

He said 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. the holding of elections not later than ninety days”.

The elections are to take place in both the provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after the PTI governments had dissolved their assemblies on the orders of party chairman Imran Khan before the expiry of their five-year mandated term.