Daily Times

Senator Raza Rabbani on Tuesday warned the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) against any delay in general elections. In a statement, Rabbani said, “Any delay in the holding of general elections, within the constitutional period will have serious consequences for the Federation.” “Such consequences shall rest on the shoulders of [the] Election Commission, should it not act immediately to fulfil its constitutional mandate,” he further said. “It is now six days since the National Assembly [was] dissolved – the clock is ticking on the constitutional requirement under Article 224 [of the] Constitution, 1973, of holding elections within 90 days.” The former Senate chairman expressed surprise as to why the ECP had not issued any “comprehensive statement with reference to or dealing with the holding of general elections”. The PPP senator demanded that the ECP “should immediately, categorically, state the time required by it, for the delimitation of constituencies after the digital census”. “The Election Commission should not take this as a routine matter nor should it keep the precedence of Punjab and KP assemblies before it,” he added, referring to the delay in holding provincial polls in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The Constitution provides that if the assembly completes its tenure, elections are to be held in 60 days, but in case of premature dissolution – which will be the case here – this period is extended to 90 days.

However, a few days ago, former opposition leader in the National Assembly Raja Riaz said that general elections would be held in February – three months later than the constitutionally allowed limit of 90 days that falls in November.