End of uncertainty

PDM parties ‘welcome’ of election date; PTI to move top court

Mahnoor Ansar/DNA

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) announced on Thursday that general elections in the country will take place in the last week of January 2024.

The electoral body said a preliminary list of delimitations, which are being carried out in line with the new census, will be published on September 27.

The ECP said it reviewed the progress on the delimitation process today and decided that the final list of constituencies will be published on November 30 after hearing the objections and suggestions related to the delimitations. 

Subsequently, the polls will be held in the last week of January 2024 following the completion of the 54-day election schedule, the ECP statement added.

The ECP’s statement finally ended the uncertainty surrounding the elections as the previous Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)-led government’s move to approve a new census mandated the electoral body to carry out new delimitation before holding polls, sparking fears of an undue delay in polls.

Following the premature dissolution of national and provincial assemblies earlier in August this year, the ECP was required to hold elections within 90-day stipulated time period, meaning the polls should take place no later than November 6.

However, the ECP said it was constitutionally bound to draw fresh boundaries ahead of the elections, hence holding elections within a 90-day time period was not possible.

Reacting to the development, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) viewed it as positive while Awami National Party (ANP) called for a specific date, however, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) decided to challenge the move in court.

Following the announcement of the poll date, the Imran Khan-led party has decided to challenge the Election Commission’s decision to conduct elections in the last week of January.

Speaking to Geo News, PTI’s core committee member Niazullah Niazi said that the Constitution calls for elections within 90 days and exceeding the period is unlawful.

“We will challenge the Election Commission’s decision. The way the ECP is working it does not look like a constitutional institution,” Niazi said, adding that President Arif Alvi has the authority to announce a date for polls.

Senior PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal said that his party welcomed the decision by the ECP as it has ended the uncertainty about the delimitation.

“Everyone knew from the first day that the election commission was bound to conduct delimitation after the census,” said Iqbal.

“Earlier, the ECP had said to complete the delimitation process by December 15 after which the polls were estimated to be held in February next year. However, our party had given suggestions to the ECP to reduce the delimitation period. In the light of those suggestions, the ECP reduced the delimitation time till November 30 and then announced elections at the end of January after the 54-day period,” he added.

Iqbal further said that uncertainty should end after the announcement of polls, adding that all the parties should start preparations now. “It is important that the elections are held peacefully and a stable government is formed that takes the country out of the economic crisis,” the former planning minister said.

He added that any party that comes into power should take all the parties on the same page and work on the economic agenda with consensus.

Iqbal said that the ECP announced the election schedule after the completion of the delimitation.

PPP leader Qamar Zaman Kaira, in a carefully worded response, said that he could give his own opinion on the matter but viewed the development as “positive”.

While speaking to media, Kaira said he is not in a position to share his party’s version which had been demanding the ECP to announce the election schedule as per the Constitution.

The former federal minister said that uncertainty would end and things would hopefully move in a positive direction. “Let’s hope for the best.”

The United States and the United Kingdom have also called for free, fair and timely elections in the country.

Last month, US Ambassador Donald Blome also met CEC Sikander Sultan Raja to reaffirm his country’s support for “free and fair elections”, reiterating that choosing Pakistan’s future leaders is for the Pakistani people to decide.

The development came days after President Arif Alvi suggested a cut-off date for the holding of polls in a letter to CEC Raja. 

The president had said that in the light of Article 48(5) of the Constitution, he has the authority and mandate “to appoint a date not later than 90 days from the date of dissolution [of assemblies], for holding of a general election to the assembly.”

[…] in terms of Article 48(5) the general election to the National Assembly should be held by the eighty-ninth day of the date of dissolution of the National Assembly, i.e. Monday 6th Day of November 2023,” the letter stated.

However, the ECP had maintained that the president was no longer empowered to fix the date for polls after amendments in election laws.

Political bigwigs to

face accountability

NAB to ‘appoint spy agency officers’

to probe high-profile corruption cases

Staff Report

ISLAMABAD: In line with the Supreme Court’s order to restore graft cases against public office holders, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) submitted a record of corruption references to an accountability court in Islamabad.

Accountability Judge Muhammad Bashir directed the registrar of the court to review the cases’ records and present them before him.

The judge directed the NAB prosecutors to review the legal aspects of the cases as the nature of cases against private individuals, public office holders, and government employees is different.

The development came as NAB prosecutors Sohail Arif and Sardar Muzaffar appeared in the accountability court to brief the judge on the reopening of the cases.

“You [prosecutours] have to tell which case can be heard and which is not in a [court’s] jurisdiction, Judge Bashir stated.

NAB prosecutor Abbasi assured the judge that the anti-graft watchdog will ensure the implementation of the apex court order and submit all relevant records to the court.

Meanwhile, NAB is  to ‘appoint spy agency officers’ to probe high-profile corruption cases.