Alvi invites CEC to fix 'appropriate date' for polls

As uncertainty abounds the next general elections, President Arif Alvi on Wednesday waded into the vote debate by inviting Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja to discuss fixing the poll date within the 90-day constitutional deadline ending in early November.

Moreover, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) sent invitations to leading political parties for consultation on the election process.

The development came as political leaders, lawyers’ bodies, and civil society criticised the commission for using delimitation “as an excuse for delaying the nationwide exercise”.

Earlier this month, the ECP issued the schedule to carry out delimitation as per the Digital Census 2023, notified by the PDM government days before it dissolved the National Assembly.

According to the timeline, the process of fresh delimitation of the national and the four provincial assembly constituencies will be completed by Dec 14, over a month beyond the 90-day deadline for conducting general elections.

"The chief election commissioner is invited for a meeting with the president today or tomorrow to fix an appropriate date," the letter from President Arif Alvi said, which included wording of the constitutional article on the 90-day deadline.

The president asked the CEC to meet him for consultation on the election date, which the president is bound to announce under Article 48(5) of the Constitution.

The president had dissolved the National Assembly on Aug 9 on the advice of the then Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Before the elections, however, the ECP had announced revamping of the constituencies in light of the digital census.

“By virtue of Article 48 (5) of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the president is obliged to appoint a date not later than 90 days from the date of dissolution for the holding of the general election of assembly,” the president said.

“Foregoing in view, the chief election commissioner is invited for a meeting with the President today (Wednesday) or tomorrow (Thursday) to fix an appropriate date,” the presidential letter added.

While the president has cited the constitutional provisions that elaborate on his role in deciding the election date, a recent amendment to the Elections Act 2017 empowered the ECP to announce the dates for polls unilaterally without having to consult the president.

The president’s invitation to the CEC comes against the backdrop of the ECP having ruled out elections this year, following the notification of the latest digital census.

As the NA was dissolved three days before the end of its constitutional term, Article 224 of the Constitution mandates that elections be held within 90 days of the dissolution of the assembly.

But at the same time, Section 17(2) of the Elections Act states that “the commission shall delimit constituencies after every census is officially published”.

Before the president's letter, the CEC had decided on the revamping of the new constituencies. Political experts suggest that after the demarcation of the new constituencies, general election could be held in February.

They also suggested that the president's letter could trigger a new constitutional debate in the country. The ECP sources said that the CEC would respond to the president's letter soon.

On the other hand, the ECP sent invitations to the political parties for consultation on the preparations for the general elections and the issue of the demarcation of the constituencies.

In the first phase, the ECP invitation had been sent to the Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPPP), the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

The series of meetings would start from Thursday (today). Officials said that the agenda of the meeting had also been sent along with the invitation. It stated that party leaders could also send their representatives.

The invitation letters are addressed to the PPP-Parliamentarians President Asif Zardari, PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and PTI Chairman Imran Khan.

During the consultations, the officials said the ECP would seek feedback from the parties on the revamping of constituencies, electoral rolls, election schedule and steps to make the voting process transparent.

The ECP had invited the PTI and the JUI-F on Thursday (today). The PML-N has been invited for a meeting on Friday (tomorrow) morning, and the PPP in the afternoon on Aug 29.

PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb confirmed that the party had received the ECP invitation, adding that a seven-member delegation would participate in the consultation with the polls supervisor.

The delegation will consist of PML-N Secretary General Ahsan Iqbal, Senator Azam Nazir Tarar, Zahid Hamid, Rana Sanaullah, Khawaja Saad Rafique, Engineer Amir Maqam and Attaullah Tarar.

The JUI-F has chosen Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri and Senator Kamran Murtaza as it representatives who will meet the CEC. JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman is in Saudi Arabia for Umrah.

The PTI nominated a three-member committee to meet the CEC. Senator Ali Zafar, Barrister Gohar Khan, and Umair Niazi will represent the PTI.

The PTI secretary general approved the nomination of the three lawyers.

Also, according to the ECP sources, CEC Raja had convened a meeting of the ECP on Thursday (today) to review President Alvi’s letter for setting the election date.