The Defense Ministry has submitted a request to the Supreme Court, asking it to reconsider its April 4 order that set May 14 as the election date for the Punjab Assembly.
The request was made through an application accompanied by a report submitted by the court’s directives for the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and other departments to provide reports after releasing Rs21 billion to the ECP for holding elections in the Punjab and KP assemblies.
The three-member bench is expected to review these reports in chambers today, and the matter will likely be heard in open court today or tomorrow.
The Defense Ministry’s application requests that general elections for the national and all provincial assemblies be held simultaneously once the terms of the national, Sindh, and Balochistan assemblies have been completed.
The report emphasizes the importance of holding elections on the same day due to the heightened security situation in the country, stating that the armed forces would be able to perform election duties by early October. However, the report cites ongoing counter-terrorism operations in KP and Balochistan and intelligence-based operations in Punjab and Sindh as reasons why the armed forces, Rangers, Frontier Constabulary, and other forces are not logistically available to provide election security twice in six months.
In its report, the ECP warns against staggering elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, citing increased expenditures and higher risks of violence and rigging. In addition, the ECP believes that political consensus is needed to reduce political polarization and stresses the importance of establishing guardrails and red lines for tolerance and balance between contesting political parties and candidates.
If the Supreme Court directs staggered elections, the ECP estimates that the election process would take six phases, extending beyond even the October 8, 2023, date previously set by the ECP. Meanwhile, the finance ministry indicates that releasing the necessary funds is difficult following the National Assembly’s rejection of a government-sponsored motion to grant Rs21 billion to the federal government for ECP election expenses in Punjab and KP.
