ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) announced on Thursday it would hold the next general elections on February 8 after a consultation with President Arif Alvi which was held in adherence to a constitutional requirement underscored by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa earlier in the day.
The chief justice was hearing a set of petitions calling for fixing the date of the next elections within the 90-day constitutional deadline ending in early November when the ECP lawyer, Sajeel Swati, revealed the national polls would be held on February 11.
However, Justice Isa instructed the ECP to appear before the court tomorrow, Friday, after consulting on the date with Alvi, as is mandated by the constitution.
“Respected Election Commission members held a meeting with the President of Pakistan under the leadership of Chief Election Commission Mr. Sikandar Sultan Raja at the Presidency today to discuss the election date,” a brief ECP statement announced. “It was unanimously decided that elections will be held on Thursday, February 8, 2024.”
According to a statement released by the President’s Secretariat, officials of the election regulatory body briefed Alvi over progress related to the delimitation of national and provincial assembly constituencies on the basis of the latest digital census done earlier this year.
The delimitation work was also cited as the reason by ECP officials for the delay in national polls in the country.
Prior to the meeting, ECP lawyer Swati told a three-member Supreme Court bench the national polls would be held after completion of delimitation on November 30.
He added all arrangements, including the delimitation of constituencies, would be completed on January 29.
“Elections should be held on Sunday, February 11,” the lawyer informed the court.
Recent amendments to Sections 57 and 58 of the Election Act 2017 allow the election commission to bypass the president and unilaterally announce election dates.
However, independent legal analysts say the power of the president to set a date for elections under Article 48(5) is an independent power under the constitution and not subservient to any other provision of the Constitution.
Pakistan is currently being run by a caretaker government under interim Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar that is meant to oversee a general election.
Despite the delay, the announcement of polls will likely ease political uncertainty as the country struggles to stay on a narrow stabilization path under a $3 billion bailout plan by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Analysts and political parties have been demanding that elections be held as soon as possible to boost confidence in the ailing $350 billion economy, which is currently suffering from high inflation, low growth and a weak currency.
