ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi on Monday held a meeting with caretaker Law Minister Ahmed Irfan Aslam for consultation on the upcoming general elections.
The meeting was held at Aiwan-i-Sadr in Islamabad in continuation of the ongoing consultation process between the president and the interim government on the electoral process.
“The continuation of the consultation process with good intent will be positive for democracy in the country,” the president was quoted as saying in a statement in his tweet.
According to the sources, the matter of the general elections in the country hangs in the balance with the political circles divided on the timing of the polls as President Arif Alvi is expected to announce the date for the electoral process anytime.
On the other hand, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has called upon the President Alvi to announce the date for the elections in a letter written by the party’s General Secretary Omar Ayub Khan.
Earlier, last week, the president had also held a meeting with caretaker Law Minister Ahmed Irfan Aslam and had emphasised the need to hold elections within 90 days of the National Assembly’s dissolution. He also stressed the need to uphold the supremacy of the Constitution, adding that decisions should be taken in accordance with the spirit of the supreme law.
According to Article 48 (5) of the Constitution, “Where the President dissolves the National Assembly, notwithstanding anything contained in clause (1), he shall (a) appoint a date, not later than ninety days from the date of the dissolution, for the holding of a general election to the Assembly.”
But since the delimitation exercise is unlikely to be completed before November 30, elections may be pushed back to late January or early February.
The president, Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), political parties and other stakeholders take differing stances on the time frame for holding general elections and who has the authority to decide the final poll date.
The ECP has ruled out elections this year, while the 90-day limit for holding polls ends on November 9.
If the elections are to be held within the 90-day limit, then the polls are due on November 9, 2023. However, before dissolving the assemblies the coalition government in a Council of Common Interests (CCI) meeting had unanimously approved the 7th Population and Housing Census 2023.
According to Article 51 (5) of the Constitution, the seats of the National Assembly to each province and the federal capital shall be allocated on the basis of population as per the new census.
Following CCI’s approval, the ECP on August 17 announced the schedule of new delimitations which exceeded the November 9th, 90-day constitutional limit, almost making sure that the elections are likely to be held post the 90-day mark.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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