President Dr Arif Alvi on Monday stressed the importance of upholding the supremacy of the Constitution on Monday, advocating that any decision regarding the holding of elections must align with the spirit of the Constitution.
The president expressed these views during a meeting with the Caretaker Federal Minister for Law and Justice Ahmed Irfan Aslam at Aiwan-e-Sadr in Islamabad. Several aspects concerning the conduct of the general elections were discussed during the meeting.
President Alvi reiterated the significance of upholding the supremacy of the constitution and urged decision-makers to abide by its spirit.
He also commended the statement made by Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar, assuring that the interim government would comply with the Supreme Court's judgment on matters concerning the general elections.
This meeting comes amidst differing views from the president, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), political parties, and other stakeholders regarding the timeline for holding the general elections and who has the authority to decide the final date of the polls.
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Sources had earlier revealed to The Express Tribune that the president was considering announcing the date for the upcoming general elections, adding that he might reveal the date once he has completed consultations with his legal advisors.
It is expected that President Alvi will send a letter to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), proposing a date in November for the elections.
The sources further disclosed that President Alvi has been advised by his legal team that although parliament may have amended the Election Act 2017, an act of parliament cannot override the provisions of the Constitution.
The Constitution clearly states that elections must be held within 90 days, and based on this legal opinion, the president is expected to communicate the election date to the ECP in the near future.
The electoral watchdog had earlier announced that it would be reducing the time required to complete the delimitation of constituencies and that its publication would now be final by Nov 30.
"To complete the consultation and feedback process with political parties and delimitation of constituencies as early as possible, the ECP has further reduced the timeframe for delimitations," a statement released by the supervisory body read.
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"Now, the final publication of constituencies will be on November 30, 2023. The purpose of reducing the duration of delimiting constituencies is to ensure holding elections as soon as possible.”
The statement also added that under the purview of the revised date for the finalisation of constituencies "the election schedule will also be announced".
Former prime minister Shehbaz Sharif had dissolved the National Assembly on August 9, three days ahead of its mandated period. The 90-day limit for the ECP to hold elections under the Constitution ends on Nov 9.
On August 17, the election supervisor announced that it would revamp all the national and provincial assemblies’ constituencies in light of the digital census within 120 days.
On the other hand, with the apex court having dismissed the ECP’s review petition against its April 4 order of holding polls for the Punjab Assembly on May 14, pressure is mounting on the electoral body either to hold the general elections within 90 days or to approach the court to seek guidance on the question of conducting new delimitation based on the 7th Population Census.
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