ECP announces General Elections 2024 date

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has 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, ARY News reported on Thursday.

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 tomorrow.

‘How consensus reached?’

Sources told ARY News that both sides had initially failed to reach a consensus on the election date.

Prior to the formal announcement, in a letter, CEC Sikandar Sultan Raja formally suggested President Alvi to hold the General Elections 2024 on February 11.

After the President-CEC meeting, a consultative session was held under the chair of the Chief Election Commissioner. Alongside ECP members and DG Law, the meeting was also attended by the legal team.

Later, the meeting was also joined by Attorney General Mansoor Usman, said sources, adding that the attorney general came with the president’s prescribed election date to the ECP headquarters.

President-CEC meeting

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has suggested ‘three dates’ to President Dr Arif Alvi for the general elections 2024.

The meeting between President Dr Arif Alvi and the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) led delegation continued for an hour at the President’s House.

Sources told ARY News that the commission suggested three dates to President Alvi for general elections 2024. The president has been suggested January 28, January 4 and February 11 for the general polls, sources added.

The ECP delegation reached the Central Secretariat after concluding the meeting with the president. However, CEC and delegation members refused to comment on their meeting with the president before the media.

Supreme Court’s directives

The development came after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) today informed the Supreme Court that the general elections in the country will be held on February 11, 2024.

A three-member bench led by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa and comprising Justice Aminuddin Khan and Justice Athar Minallah heard the pleas.

The ECP’s lawyer, while sharing the schedule with the apex court, said that all arrangements including delimitation will be completed by January 29.

Explaining the delimitation process, the lawyer said it would take them 3 to 5 days to issue the final lists. He added that if 54 days are counted from December 5 then we get January 29 date.

The lawyer said that the ECP was looking to hold the polls on Sunday to make it easier for the people to participate in the elections. He added that under this plan the first Sunday would have fallen on February 4 and the second would be on February 11.

“We decided on our own that elections should be held on Sunday, February 11,” said the lawyer.

The apex court then directed the election commission to consult the President of Pakistan on the poll date.