Senate passes resolution seeking timely elections

ISLAMABAD: The Senate on Wednesday passed a resolution urging the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to hold general elections across the country within the stipulated time, ARY News reported.

The resolution – tabled by Jamat-e-Islami (JI) Senator Mushtaq Ahmad – urged the electoral watchdog to hold holding general elections across the country within the stipulated time given under Article 224 of the Constitution.

It also asked all the state institutions to assist, in every possible manner, the election commission in holding timely elections.

According to the resolution, the Supreme Court had ruled that holding elections under Article 224 of the Constitution was a “divine” responsibility which could not be disobeyed.

“Therefore, this House demands the ECP to ensure holding polls within the stipulated period of time given under Article 224 of the Constitution and take all necessary measures in this regard,” it stated.

The resolution comes as the government is all set to dissolve the National Assembly (NA) today, three days ahead of its mandated period.

Incumbent National Assembly’s full tenure will end on August 12 and if it completes its stipulated time then elections will be held within 60 days. However, the Constitution states that the polls must be held within 90 days if the assembly is dissolved before the completion of its tenure.

It would be liable to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to hold polls within 90 days if the summary is moved to dissolve the lower house on August 9 (tomorrow).

Before the dissolution of the assembly, the government and the opposition required to agree over the caretaker setup to fill the gap before the next general election and installation of elected new government.

However, ministers have recently stated that there was a possibility of a delay in holding the next general elections as the Council of Common Interest (CCI) “unanimously” approved the 2023 census.

Khawaja Asif stated that there is a possibility of a delay in holding the next general elections.

“I do believe that elections will be held in November. But you asked me if there is a possibility of delay: There is a possibility of a delay but not more than a couple of months on technical grounds,” he said.

When asked whether the approval of the 2023 census would result in an election delay, Khawaja Asif said: “I cannot speculate at the moment but it is a possibility. I won’t rule that out.”

On the other hand, Rana Sanaullah said that the general elections would be held in the third week of February or the first week of March after new delimitations.