CEC tells details of meeting with president

ISLAMABAD: Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja said on Thursday that his meeting with President Dr Arif Alvi was cordial, ARY News reported.

While informally talking to the journalists, CEC Sikandar Sultan Raja said that all decisions of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) have been proved correct so far.

Elaborating the details of the meeting, They reached a consensus to hold general elections 2024 on February 8 and all decisions were taken with consultations.

To a question, he replied that President Alvi has never rejected to hold the meeting but it was ECP’s decision. “In Supreme Court, we suggested to hold polls on February 11, as well as in a letter to the president.”

“It was a unanimous decision to hold general elections on February 8. We took all decisions with consultations. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) cabinet was changed and notices were served to the federal cabinet. The military troops will assist the ECP in general polls.”

A journalist questioned the reason for not holding polls on Sunday. The CEC said on a lighter note that it would make schoolchildren happy as they will get another holiday.

Raja said that the ECP is responsible for keeping an eye on the caretaker government but not to constitute it. He added that the commission changed two members of the Capital Development Authority (CDA).

The chief election commissioner hinted at changing the Inspector General (IG) Islamabad and the Deputy Commission (DC) Islamabad in the coming days.

Earlier in the day, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) formally announced the General Elections 2024 date after a consensus was reached between President Dr Arif Alvi and the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) announced to hold General Elections on February 8, 2024, after a key consultative meeting held between President Dr Arif Alvi and CEC Sikandar Sultan Raja.

Formal notifications have been issued by both the ECP headquarters and the President’s House.

The notification read that a CEC-led delegation met the president today and a unanimous decision was taken to organise general polls on February 8, 2024.

The commission would apprise the Supreme Court (SC) regarding the election date on Friday (today).