Governor KP invites ECP for consultation on election date

Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Haji Ghulam Ali on Monday invited the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for a meeting on March 7 or 8 regarding consultations on the date of general elections, Aaj News reported.

In a letter, the governor maintained that the process of consultation should be completed at the earliest, and the election date should be announced as per the orders of the Supreme Court.

The development comes days after the ECP wrote a letter to the governor’s principal secretary in this regard.

Speaking to the media on Saturday, governor KP confirmed receiving ECP’s letter, saying the election date for the KP Assembly is expected to be announced on March 6 (today) when the principal secretary of the province would open the letter.

“Secretary is on leave, he will open the letter himself when he returns on Monday.”

Last week, President Dr Arif Alvi announced that the Punjab Assembly’s elections would be held on April 30.

"ECP had proposed a poll date between April 30 and May 7, 2023, for holding general elections of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab, and had further suggested holding elections preferably on Sunday," said a statement issued by President’s House.

It said that the ECP was prepared to fulfill its constitutional and legal duty once the date for elections was selected by the president, adding the commission has written a letter to the governor of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, saying the electoral body was waiting for his response regarding the date for polls in the province.

The announcement comes two days after the Supreme Court ruled that the elections to the Punjab and KP assemblies should be held within the stipulated period of 90 days. It; however, allowed the ECP to propose a poll date that deviates from the 90-day deadline by the “barest minimum”, in case of any practical difficulty.

It also held that President Alvi and the KP governor will fix dates for Punjab and KP assemblies, respectively, in consultation with the ECP.