ECP about-face

In surprise move, electoral supervisor delays Punjab polls until Oct 8

ISLAMABAD:

In a surprising development, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday delayed the election in Punjab until October 8 on the grounds that it could not conduct transparent and peaceful polls on the scheduled date of April 30.

In an eight-page order, the ECP said that it could not hold the election “honestly, justly and fairly in a peaceful manner due to security threats [and] in the absence of funds” and being unable to provide “level-playing field” to all political parties.

It said that the elections could not be held in Punjab under the circumstances conveyed to it by the law-enforcement agencies, finance, defence and interior ministries, Punjab chief secretary and others, who all opposed the polls on various grounds.

Subsequently, the ECP withdrew its notification regarding the elections in Punjab and postponed the voting for the provincial assembly until October 8, 2023, adding that fresh election schedule would be announced in due course.

“The Commission hereby withdraws the election programme issued vide Notification No. F. 2(3)/2023/Cord dated 8th March, 2023 and fresh schedule will be issued in due course of time with poll date on 08th October, 2023,” the ECP order stated.

After considering reports of different stakeholders, such as the interior and the defence ministries, the ECP said, it reached the conclusion that “it is not possible to hold and organise elections … in accordance with the Constitution and law”.

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja and the ECP members, Shah Muhammad Jatoi, Nisar Ahmed Durrani, Babar Hassan Bharwana and Justice (retd) Ikramullah Khan, while referring to the briefings given by the officials concerned noted that 252 incidents of terrorism had taken place since January 2023 and they were intensifying with each passing day, particularly the cross-border incursion.

The ECP order comes at a time when it has increasingly become clear that the polls in Punjab may not take place on the stipulated date, while the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) governor has yet to give the timeframe for the assembly polls due in the province.

Surprising as it may seem, when all eyes were on the joint session of parliament and a meeting of the federal cabinet on Wednesday, the ECP released its order, carrying its decision of delaying the elections in Punjab.

In the federal cabinet meeting, the ministers opined that general elections should be held simultaneously across the country as neither holding polls in two provinces only was possible nor security and monetary situation favoured them.

Sources said that the cabinet decided that it would convey its response to the ECP after considering all aspects of the situation.

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court ordered that President Arif Alvi should announce the date of the Punjab Assembly election, while the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) governor would set the election date for the K-P assembly in consultation with the ECP.

A five-judge larger bench of the apex court on March 1 gave a 3-2 split verdict on a suo motu case about the election date for the two provincial assemblies after holding hearing for two days.

The Punjab Assembly was dissolved by then chief minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi in January on the instructions of PTI Chairman Imran Khan. Imran had also ordered the dissolution of the K-P Assembly, which was also dissolved in the same month.

The PTI chief has been holding rallies and protests in different cities to force the federal government for calling early election in the country. The dissolution of the Punjab and K-P assemblies was also part of his efforts for early elections.

The federal government has been opposing the early elections. It says that elections should be held on the same day once the incumbent government completes it constitutional term.

The government side argues that holding elections separately would increase political crisis. Both the sides, however, admit that the deadlock has led to political instability and deteriorated economic situation.