Daily Times

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday decided to seek the opinion of the Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) and legal experts on the fixation date for the election of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies by President Dr Arif Alvi. The ECP invited the AGP for a meeting at its office on Wednesday in that regard while the process for selection of two constitutional experts was also initiated. The decision to the effect was taken in a meeting chaired by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja and attended by the members, an ECP press release said. The meeting viewed that the Commission was ready to conduct the election within 90 days after the dissolution of assemblies, but fixation of the polling date was not its mandate. It was not mentioned in the Constitution that the Commission would announce the election date, however, it was bound to announce the election schedule soon after the polling date was fixed by the competent authority.

The ECP affirmed to continue working independently in accordance with the law of the land without any pressure. A day earlier, President Dr Arif Alvi, unilaterally fixed Sunday, April 9, 2023, as the date for holding the general elections of the provincial assemblies of Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) under Section 57(1) of the Elections Act, 2017.

In a letter to the CEC, Alvi said that he was under oath to preserve and protect the constitution and there was no impediment in invoking his power and authority to announce the date of the elections after consulting the ECP.

According to a press release issued by the President Secretariat’s Press Wing, the president asked the ECP to issue the election programme in accordance with Section 57(2) of the Elections Act.