The date of the K-P poll has finally been made public.
The date for elections to the provincial assembly has been established for May 28.
ISLAMABAD: After separate meetings with President Dr. Arif Alvi and the Election Commission of Pakistan on Tuesday, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Governor Haji Ghulam Ali said the general election of the provincial legislature would take place on May 28.
The declaration was made in accordance with the Supreme Court’s directive in the March 1 election date suo motu case, in which a larger panel of five judges ordered the governor to declare the date of the provincial assembly election after consulting with the ECP.
As Governor Ali told reporters here, “I was under pressure from the entire nation for [the election date]”. The date of May 28 has been decided upon after consultation with the Electoral Commission in a cordial manner, he noted.
“We have set May 28 as the election day, and the Election Commission is now in charge of holding the elections. May the elections on May 28 be conducted without incident,” he concluded.
The governor acknowledged that many concerns “have been expressed and will be raised” about the security when questioned about it. The law and order are a concern, he continued. “We were saying previously and are still saying it,” he said.
He emphasised that while protests were still going on in the recently united tribal areas, the police were recently attacked in Lakki Marwat and Charsadda. He did however express his optimism for a smooth electoral process.
The Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja, the ECP members, the ECP secretary, and other top employees were present in an earlier meeting where the government was present.
The governor discussed the state of peace and order in the province and the issues in the tribal districts with the polls supervisor during the meeting. The Governor was asked by the ECP to tell it of his choice for the election date.
The governor later paid President Alvi a visit at the White House. Discussions about the general elections in Punjab and K-P took place during the meeting. The governor was asked by the president to set the province’s election date.
Governor Ali reportedly informed the president that the state of law and order in the province was not sufficient, according to the Press Wing of the President’s House. However, it was stated that Alvi had advised Ali to follow the Supreme Court’s ruling on the election day.
According to the official statement, the president and governor spoke about the election issue in light of Article 224(2) of the Constitution and the Supreme Court’s March 1 order.
The election date should be set in order to eliminate any confusion, the president emphasised, as almost two weeks had gone since the top court’s order. He claimed that in order to establish parliamentary democracy in the nation, timely elections were required.
