Polls will be held in Oct this year: Asif

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has rejected all speculations about a possible delay in polls, saying that the next general elections for the national and provincial legislatures will take place in October this year without any delay.
“The assemblies will complete their five-year term in August and polls will take place within the next 60 days. Elections will be held on time,” Asif said on Sunday while talking to The Express Tribune. “

When asked what he meant by “on time”, he replied: “In October. Elections will take place in October without any delay.”

According to Article 224 (1), “A general election to the National Assembly or a Provincial Assembly shall be held within a period of sixty days immediately following the day on which the term of the Assembly is due to expire, unless the Assembly has been sooner dissolved, and the results of the election shall be declared not later than fourteen days before that day.”

Though the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party had dissolved the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies in January this year, hoping that the move would force the ruling alliance into dissolving the other legislatures as well hold elections within the 90-day period. However, that did not happen.

The government has repeatedly opposed holding snap polls or holding polls for the national and provincial legislatures separately citing lack of security, funds and fresh census results.

The matter was taken to the Supreme Court but the top court’s intervention also couldn’t lead to elections in the two provinces where caretaker governments are functioning even after expiry of their 90-day term.

Earlier, the PTI had not only expressed fears that the government might not hold polls even in October.

The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) which is a part of the ruling coalition had also constituted a three-member committee to convince other parties in the ruling alliance about holding polls on time. PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari had even said delaying general elections beyond October would be “foolish”.

The PPP had swung in action after diplomats and foreign delegations started frequently enquiring about elections’ timing in their official meetings and social gathering with the government officials as economy and political stability depend on timely elections.

Briefly, when the government sat down across the table with the PTI to discuss polls’ date, it was hoped that elections could take place before October but then the talks ended in stalemate.

The Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (Pildat)— a think tank focusing on political and public policy research—also emphasized holding free and fair general elections for all the assemblies by October 2023.

“General Elections for [the] National [Assembly] and four provincial assemblies in Pakistan must be held latest by October 2023 after the National Assembly completes its 5-year term on 12th August,” said a statement issued by Pildat, adding the Election Commission of Pakistan must be fully prepared for that.

The current National Assembly will complete its five-year term on August 12, 2023, Pildat said, adding the fresh general election must be conducted within 60 days, as laid down in the Constitution of Pakistan, which suggests the latest conceivable date for the 2023 general elections is October 12.

However, it added, if the National Assembly is dissolved even one day before the completion of its term, the election must be held within 90 days—on November 11, 2023.

Political experts firmly believe that only free, fair and timely general elections can bring back desperately-needed political stability in Pakistan.