By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday reached out to the authorities in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, proposing them dates for the general elections for the provincial assemblies — days after caretaker governments were installed in the two provinces.
It suggested elections be held between April 15 and 17 in KP and April 9 and 13 in Punjab. Syed Mohsin Naqvi was sworn in as caretaker chief minister of Punjab on January 22 while Mohammad Azam Khan had taken oath as the KP chief executive on January 21, respectively, after the dissolution of the two assemblies.
The KP Assembly was dissolved on January 18 just four days after the dissolution of the Punjab Assembly on January 14. On December 17, Pakistan Tehreek-E-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan had announced that his governments in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunklhwa would dissolve the assemblies to pave way for fresh elections.
ECP letters to governors
In separate letters to principal secretaries to the governors of the two provinces Wednesday, the Election Commission of Pakistan cited Article 224 of the Constitution, stipulating the holding of the general election of an assembly within 90 days of the legislature’s dissolution.
Article 224 states: “When the National Assembly or a provincial assembly is dissolved, a general election to the assembly shall be held within a period of ninety days after the dissolution, and the results of the election shall be declared not later than fourteen days after the conclusion of the polls.”
In its letter to Punjab, the ECP recommended the province to fix the general election between April 9-13. The watchdog said the election date must not exceed April 13. “Likewise, for completion of all activities mentioned in the election programme as per section 57 (2) of the Elections Act, 2017, a minimum of 54 days will be required,” the ECP said in its letter. It urged the provincial government to finalise the date for the election in light of the suggestions made by them.
In another letter to the principal secretary to governor KP, the Election Commission of Pakistan urged the authorities concerned to fix a date between April 15-17 for election across the province. The ECP reminded the province to not exceed the proposed date in the binding of the law.
