NA speaker pushes for elections on same day

National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf has offered his good offices to help break a political stalemate over the holding of the national and provincial assembly elections on the same date.

His offer to political parties to sit together to resolve the issue came on the day when President Dr Arif Alvi announced the date of the Punjab Assembly elections.

The speaker said that the elections of the National Assembly and the provincial assemblies should be held on the same day to avoid complications in future; therefore, it is important to sit together and decide.

The speaker said that the educated class can play a role in improving the situation in the country, which he believes stems from abuse and negative propaganda.

He also confidently stated that Pakistan will never go bankrupt.

Ashraf said that the government will welcome whatever date the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) gives for the provincial assemblies’ polls.

“I would like elections to be held on time; elections will be held according to the Constitution and law,” the speaker said. “If there are difficulties, the problems can be resolved by sitting together and forging consensus.”

The speaker said that political parties should negotiate to hold all elections the same day.

“To avoid post-election complications, it is better to sit together and decide today,” he added.

Ashraf’s comments come after the Supreme Court (SC) decision on the suo motu case pertaining to polls in the provincial assemblies of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P). The top court ruled that elections should be held within 90 days of the assemblies’ dissolution.

The 3-2 split verdict given by a five-judge larger bench of the apex court stated that it was the constitutional duty of the federation, in terms of Clause (3) of Article 148 of the Constitution, to ensure that the government of every province was carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.

Subsequently, after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) proposed the dates to President Dr Arif Alvi, the latter on Friday announced April 30 as the date for the Punjab provincial elections.