PESHAWAR: A consultative meeting between Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Governor Haji Ghulam Ali and Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday remained inconclusive to determine date for election in the province.
The KP Governor and members of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) met in Islamabad to determine the date of the general elections in the third most populous and economically significant province of Pakistan.
According to sources privy to the meeting, the meeting between the governor and the ECP members remained [inconclusive].
They said though this meeting was “touted as consultative meeting” to fix a date for elections to the KP Provincial Assembly in the light of a Supreme Court ruling, but nothing came out of it. The KP governor, however, was of the view that he cannot announce the date for elections in KP immediately due to the law and order situation.
Earlier, KP Governor Haji Ghulam Ali had initiated the meeting by suggesting March 7 or 8 as potential dates, prompting the commission to form a consultation team consisting of the secretary, special secretary, and director general of legal affairs.
In response to the commission’s team formation, Ali confirmed March 8 as the date for consultation and requested the ECP be prepared to discuss all matters relevant to ensuring a peaceful election in the province.
As per the Constitution, the ECP holds the responsibility of conducting elections, with support from law enforcement agencies and the caretaker government in maintaining peace during the electoral process.
On March 1, the Supreme Court ordered general elections in the provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa must be held within 90 days in a bid to quash fears a fledgling democratic process is about to be derailed.
“Parliamentary democracy is one of the salient features of the Constitution. There can be no parliamentary democracy without parliament or the provincial assemblies […] Elections, and the periodic holding of elections, therefore, underpin the very fabric of the Constitution,” the court order read.
President Arif Alvi, who is a leader of Imran Khan’s party, announced April 9 as the election date for two provinces after the former prime minister requested the chief ministers to dissolve their assemblies in a bid to force early elections.
However, the announcement created a constitutional crisis, with experts questioning the president’s right to take such a decision. The Supreme Court intervened to determine which state institution holds the constitutional responsibility of decide about date for the polls as the Constitution binds that elections must be held within 90 days after the dissolution of a parliament.
The national elections are due to be held by October this year.
