The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) denied President Arif Alvi’s request for a meeting to discuss elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for the time being, claiming that the matter was already under review by the judiciary.
President Alvi reprimanded the election commissioner on Friday for his “poignant approach” to the general election date. As a result, he was summoned to an “urgent meeting” on Monday, February 20, to discuss the polling date.
However, after criticizing the president’s “choice of words” in the letter, ECP has now claimed that the “matter being subjudice in various judicial forums” may prevent it from consulting with the president’s office.
The electoral body was aware of its legal and constitutional obligations, according to a letter from the secretary of the ECP to the secretary of the president.
Read: President Alvi calls an “urgent” meeting with CEC on general election dates.
“It is pertinent to note that Article 105, read in conjunction with Article 112 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973, provides the procedure for determining the date of the election in the event of the dissolution of the provincial assemblies,” it stated.
The ECP secretary informed the president’s office that, following the dissolution of the assemblies in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the ECP contacted the governors of both provinces to determine an election date. He claimed that the Punjab and KP governors had responded to the letters but had not yet provided a date.
Read More: ECP expects a “better choice of words” from President Alvi
In response to the Lahore High Court’s (LHC) directive regarding the date of the Punjab election, the letter stated that the ECP had consulted with Punjab Baligh ur Rehman by the orders but that he intended to file a lawsuit against the ruling because “it was not binding on him.”
The ECP secretary informed the president’s office that the commission had appealed the high court’s ruling in a separate Intra court appeal “on the ground that the process of consultation with the Governor is not provided in the Constitution” and had asked the court for additional guidance through a miscellaneous petition.
In addition, he stated that three writ petitions requesting that the Peshawar High Court set a date for general elections in KP had also been submitted.
The letter stated, “It is clarified that Article 112(1) of the Constitution does not authorize the Election Commission to appoint a polling date in the event of dissolution of a provincial assembly by the governor or time-lapse.”
 denied President Arif Alvi's request for a meeting to discuss elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for the time being, claiming that the matter was already under review by the judiciar){kind=link}