General elections will be held in Pakistan by February 2024: ECP

Islamabad (IANS). The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has assured political parties and the President that it will hold general elections by February 2024.

The Shehbaz Sharif-led coalition government of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) dissolved the parliament and the government on 9 August, following which an interim government led by Anwarul Haq Kakar carried out the constitutional mandate to hold elections in the country within 90 days. Has taken charge with.

However, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), responsible for overseeing the electoral process, has said that elections in the country may not be possible before February 2024. The new elections will be held after the completion of the delimitation process under the new digital census.

The ECP has released a schedule for the delimitation process, which will be completed by December 14. The ECP says it will need at least two to three more months to prepare for and conduct the general elections.

The ECP’s comments on the matter came after the Shehbaz Sharif-led government independently decided on the date of the election without consulting the President’s Office.

The ECP chief refused to meet the President of Pakistan, Dr. Arif Alvi, saying he need not follow the convention of meeting him as he was not bound to consult the President on the date of election.

The caretaker government also appears to agree with the ECP as it rejected the President’s advice to instruct the ECP to hold elections on time, saying that it was the ECP’s decision to decide and announce the election date.

Political parties such as the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Awami National Party (ANP) have been demanding the ECP to hold elections on time as per the constitution.

Senior leader of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Sherry Rehman said that our demand is that the elections should be held on time. When we were in government and were part of the consultative meeting in the Council of Common Interest (CCI), we were assured that the elections would be held within the stipulated time frame of 90 days.

Now ECP says that it will take more time, which is unconstitutional and we do not agree with it.

Awami National Party (ANP) leader Mian Iftikhar after meeting with the Election Commissioner of Pakistan said that the Election Commission has assured us of its readiness for elections in mid-February and possibly to allow earlier elections. Expressed its commitment to expedite the area delimitation process. I conveyed my party’s view to the ECP and emphasized that it is mandatory to hold elections within 90 days as per the Constitution.

Experts say holding elections within 90 days is a mandate for the caretaker government and the ECP, but delaying the elections would require an ordinance-based extension in the tenure of not only the caretaker government, but also by the IMF and Western powers. Will be viewed critically.

Senior political analyst Javed Siddiqui said Pakistan’s hands and feet are tied to the IMF programme, adding that timely transition of power to democracy is vital for the country’s political certainty and financial stability.

If the elections are delayed, the consequences for Pakistan on the economic front may be such that the country will not be able to bear them.