Home TRENDING ALVI WANTS ECP TO QUICKLY DECLARE K-P PUNJAB ELECTION DATES

ALVI WANTS ECP TO QUICKLY DECLARE K-P PUNJAB ELECTION DATES

Alvi has urged the ECP to publish the poll dates for K-P and Punjab "quickly."

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Alvi has urged the ECP to publish the poll dates for K-P and Punjab “quickly.”
It has been stated by the President that the Constitution does not permit any delays after the dissolution of assemblies.

President Dr Arif Alvi talking to Lahore-based journalists at Governor House, Lahore on January 26, 2023. PHOTO: PID

ISLAMABAD – On Wednesday, President Dr. Arif Alvi urged the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to set the dates for the elections in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) and Punjab, arguing that delays were not permitted by the Constitution.

The president emphasized the “relevant provisions of the Constitution” in a letter to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikander Sultan Raja following the “dissolution of two Provincial Assemblies, Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and consequential elections to be held there.”

The State shall exercise its power and authority through the chosen representatives of the people, according to Article 2A of the Constitution, it was said.

“Such is the unwavering resolve and dedication by the ancestors of the Nation who crafted the Objectives Resolution officially made part of the Constitution,” Alvi continued (Article 2A). Therefore, there is no longer any doubt regarding the democratic principles and values that must be upheld, maintained, and implemented.

It emphasized that either Article 105 or Article 112 might be used to dissolve a provincial parliament.

“In either case, the Assembly election must take place 90 days after the dissolution. The mandate is strengthened even further by Article 224(2), which emphasises the holding of an election within 90 days. According to PART VIII of the Constitution, in particular Article 218 (3), the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has a duty to ensure the holding of fair and free elections as its first and most important responsibility.

The Commission would be held accountable and culpable for any constitutional violations, the president claimed, if it failed to carry out its responsibilities.

Alvi argued that it was his “constitutional responsibility to remind the CEC and Members of the Commission about their core duty” because he was the president and “under Oath [Article 42 Third Schedule] ‘to preserve, uphold and defend the Constitution'”.

The United States of America, one of the oldest democracies of the modern age, is strong, in part, he continued, because it has never postponed an election.

According to Alvi, he is “firmly of the opinion that there are no such conditions which may supply any reason for delaying or postponement of elections.”

The delay of constitutionally required elections, he continued, might result in “severe long-term setbacks to democracy.”

He came to the conclusion that the electoral watchdog should quickly announce the date of the polls by establishing an election schedule in conformity with the Constitution and the legislation and “put an end to such dangerous speculative promotion for these and future general elections.”

The letter was also delivered to Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, speaker of the National Assembly, the governors of Punjab and K-P, and the speakers of the corresponding province assemblies.

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