ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi has appreciated Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar’s statement that the interim government would abide by the judgment of the Supreme Court of Pakistan on the matter of general elections in the country.
He expressed these views during a meeting with Caretaker Federal Minister for Law and Justice Ahmed Irfan Aslam who called on him here at Aiwan-e-Sadr on Monday, a statement said.
The meeting discussed many issues related to the holding of general elections in the country.
The president emphasised the need for upholding the supremacy of the Constitution, adding that decisions should be taken in accordance with the spirit of the Constitution.
A media report claimed that the president was contemplating announcing the date for the next general elections.
The report added that the president might make the announcement as soon as he had completed consultations with his legal aides. It said it was expected that the president would write another letter to the ECP, suggesting a date in November for the elections.
The report said that President Alvi had been advised by his legal team that an act of parliament could not override the provisions of the Constitution and that parliament might have amended the Election Act 2017 but the Constitution was clear that polls would have to take place within 90 days.
“Based on that opinion, the president will communicate the election date to the Election Commission soon,” the report added.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) earlier announced that it would be reducing the time required to complete the delimitation of constituencies and that its publication would now be final by Nov 30.
“To complete the consultation and feedback process with political parties and delimitation of constituencies as early as possible, the ECP has further reduced the timeframe for delimitations,” a statement released by the supervisory body read.
“Now, the final publication of constituencies will be on November 30, 2023. The purpose of reducing the duration of delimiting constituencies is to ensure holding elections as soon as possible.”
The statement also added that under the purview of the revised date for the finalisation of constituencies “the election schedule will also be announced”.
Former prime minister Shehbaz Sharif had dissolved the National Assembly on August 9, three days ahead of its mandated period. The 90-day limit for the ECP to hold elections under the Constitution ends on Nov 9.
On August 17, the election supervisor announced that it would revamp all the national and provincial assemblies’ constituencies in light of the digital census within 120 days.
On the other hand, with the apex court having dismissed the ECP’s review petition against its April 4 order of holding polls for the Punjab Assembly on May 14, pressure is mounting on the electoral body either to hold the general elections within 90 days or to approach the court to seek guidance on the question of conducting new delimitation based on the 7th Population Census.
