World News | Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Suggests May 28 as Election Date in Province
Get latest articles and stories on World at LatestLY. The governor of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Tuesday proposed May 28 as the date for provincial elections during the meeting of the election commission officials, amidst the uncertainty over holding the polls.
Islamabad, Mar 14 (PTI) The governor of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Tuesday proposed May 28 as the date for provincial elections during the meeting of the election commission officials, amidst the uncertainty over holding the polls.
Speaking to reporters after a meeting with Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, Governor Haji Ghulam Ali said “my work is to give the date for the elections in the province but conducting the polls falls under the electoral watchdog's domain.”
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The Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) assemblies were dissolved on January 14 and 18, respectively by the Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party as part of its bid to force early general elections in the country.
Pakistan's Supreme Court earlier this month ordered the election commission to hold elections in the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces within the 90-day period as mandated by the Constitution.
The KP governor said the meeting with the election commission officials was held in a “good atmosphere”, the Dawn newspaper reported.
He cited the law and order situation as “a real problem”, and mentioned how the police came under attack in the province's Lakki Marwat district.
“The election commission and government are bound to follow the orders of the Supreme Court,” he said.
However, Governor Ghulam said he “does not see elections happening”. Earlier in the day, Ghulam also met President Arif Alvi, who advised him to “forthwith” announce the date for general elections to the KP Assembly to “avoid any complication”.
According to a press release issued by the President's Secretariat, the governor called on Alvi and discussed matters related to the holding of general elections.
“The president advised Ali to implement the apex court's order in letter and spirit wherein it had been directed that the KP governor, after consultation with the Election Commission of Pakistan, forthwith appoint a date for the holding of the general election to the provincial assembly to avoid any complication as almost a period of two weeks had already passed,” it said.
“The president emphasised the need for upholding the Constitution and holding general elections within the given time period, which had been mandated by the Constitution, further affirmed by the Supreme Court of Pakistan, and was essential for strengthening parliamentary democracy in the country,” the press release added.
While the date for elections in Punjab has been fixed for April 30, the fate of polls in KP continues to hang in balance.
On February 17, President Alvi had invited CEC Raja for an urgent meeting regarding consultations on election dates but the ECP told him he had no role in the announcement of dates for general elections to provincial assemblies and the commission was aware of its constitutional obligation in this regard.
Subsequently, the president unilaterally announced April 9 as the date for holding general elections for the Punjab and KP assemblies.
The move drew sharp criticism from his political opponents, who accused him of acting like a PTI worker while the election commission said it would announce the poll schedule only after the “competent authority” fixes the date.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)