ECP again excuses itself from consulting president over polls

Electoral body underlines the matter's subjudice status, refuses to partake

ISLAMABAD:

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Monday confirmed that it cannot participate in a consultative session with President Dr Arif Alvi regarding electoral dates for the Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa National Assembly polls as the matter was subjudice.

A letter from the ECP Secretary Omar Hamid Khan stated that the ECP meeting “decided that the matter being subjudice, the Commission cannot participate in a meeting on the subject matter with the Office of the President”.

It may be noted that President Alvi had invited Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja for an ‘urgent meeting’ on February 20 for consultations on the dates for the polls in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) and Punjab.

The meeting was scheduled to take place at Aiwan-e-Sadr in accordance with Section 57(1) of the Elections Act, 2017, which provides that the president is entrusted to announce the date for the polls after consulting the ECP.

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"The commission is well aware of its constitutional and legal obligations and has already conveyed its response to the earlier letter, dated February 8, 2023, explaining the complete background [of the matter]," stated the letter penned by Secretary ECP Omar Hamid Khan.

The electoral watchdog maintained that after the dissolution of the Punjab and K-P assemblies, the governors were approached for the appointment of election dates as per the dictates of the Constitution.

It added that while the governors have responded to the letters sent by the ECP, neither has thus far announced a date for the polls.

In compliance with the Lahore High Court (LHC) orders, the commission said, a consultation was held with the Punjab governor on February 14, but he "regretted to appoint a poll date and informed that he would avail legal remedy against the judgment of the LHC as it was not binding on him".