Following a recent ruling by the Lahore High Court (LHC). Presided over by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, the meeting will examine the LHC verdict and determine the next steps for holding the provincial assembly elections.
As a result of increasing pressure from various sources including the PTI and President Arif Alvi, the poll supervisory body has been under increasing pressure to announce the election date. A letter recently sent by Dr Arif Alvi to the CEC requested the commission to announce the election schedule for Punjab and K-P provincial assemblies as soon as possible.
President Alvi emphasized in his letter that elections must be held within 90 days as specified in Article 224 (2) of the Constitution. The LHC, in its Friday ruling, ordered the ECP to announce the date of the Punjab Assembly elections after consulting with the governor, who serves as the province’s constitutional head.
According to the ruling, the governor and ECP were directed to announce the election date immediately following petitions from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and others. The order was passed by Justice Jawad Hassan, who stated that Article 105 of the Constitution covers two scenarios, the first of which involves the dissolution of the assembly upon the advice of the chief minister, and the second which involves the dissolution of the assembly by the application of law.
