Pakistan’s president announced the election date for Punjab province after consultation with the Election Commission. The move follows a recent order from the Supreme Court to settle the ongoing election controversy.
Dr Arif Alvi, President of Pakistan, has announced that elections for the provincial assembly of Punjab will be held on April 30, 2023. As a result of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) sending the president a list of possible election dates, the decision has been made.
The preferred date for the election, according to the ECP, should be a Sunday between April 30 and May 7, 2023. Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja presided over the meeting where it was decided to send the list of dates.
By sending letters to the President and Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Haji Ghulam Ali, asking them to choose dates for elections in the provinces in accordance with a recent Supreme Court order, the ECP had formally begun the process of holding elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The president and governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were instructed by the supreme court to schedule the elections for the provincial assemblies after consulting with the ECP.
The current political impasse had developed into a serious constitutional crisis, especially after the National Assembly declared President Alvi’s announcement of the dates for elections in two provinces to be unconstitutional. The country had entered a constitutional crisis as a result of the hard stance taken by all major political parties at a time when default risk was already high.
Imran Khan, the PTI leader and former premier, tried to force snap elections on the parties in power in the centre and other provinces by dissolving the assemblies in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The Lahore High Court (LHC) was consulted on the issue and ordered the ECP to hold elections within 90 days.
The governor of Punjab was consulted by the ECP to determine the election date, but the governor stated that because he had not signed the summary for the dissolution of the assembly, he was not authorised to make the announcement.
President Alvi announced the date for elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after the ECP declined to consult with him regarding provincial assembly elections. The President was criticised by the ruling alliance for acting in an “unconstitutional” manner, and they even threatened to seek his impeachment.
The Supreme Court took suo moto notice of the election dispute and not only decided that elections must be held within 90 days, but also instructed the President and Governor KP to choose dates after consulting the ECP. In response to this choice, the ECP wrote letters to the President and Governor KP to start the election process in the two provinces.
