Governor, ECP meeting fails to finalise elections date in Punjab

A meeting between Punjab Governor Balighur Rehman and a delegation of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) failed to finalise a date for elections in the province, Aaj News reported.

The meeting was arranged after the Lahore High Court (LHC) ordered the electoral watchdog to consult with the governor and fix a date for elections in the province.

The ECP secretary, who led the delegation in the meeting, told the media that the Punjab governor said he had not signed the summary for the dissolution of the assembly, thus, he was not entitled to announce the election date.

The Punjab governor said he will use his ‘legal rights’ while fixing a date for the elections, he added.

Earlier, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan and President Arif Alvi reviewed legal options if the ECP did not comply with the LHC orders.

in a telephonic conversation on Tuesday, both leaders discussed constitutional aspects of the court's verdict.

The development comes days after LHC’s Justice Jawad Hassan accepted PTI General Secretary Asad Umar's petition and ordered the ECP to hold elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa within 90 days.

Following the move, the electoral body on Monday requested the Punjab governor for a meeting to discuss the matter in order to finalise the election date.

A meeting chaired by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja comprising Secretary ECP Umer Hameed and other senior officials and members discussed the implementation of the LHC’s order.

A statement issued by the ECP after the meeting said that the commission has requested Punjab Governor Balighur Rehman to schedule a meeting on Tuesday (Feb 14) to discuss the date for provincial elections.

The commission said it had written a letter to Governor Rehman to suggest an appropriate time for February 14 meeting so that the court orders for holding the elections in Punjab could be held.

It added that the electoral body had appointed the ECP secretary to head the discussions with the governor, along with ECP special secretary Zafar Iqbal Hussain and Director General (Law) Mohammad Arshad.