A joint session of the Pakistani Parliament adopted a resolution that emphasized the need for holding general elections for the National Assembly and provincial assemblies in the country simultaneously to strengthen the federation.
The resolutions were moved by Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Murtaza Javed Abbasi and Senator Kamran Murtaza to promote political stability and foster unity among the provinces. However, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers staged a token walkout from the House, chanting, “Hold elections and save the country.”
The resolution called for neutral caretaker set-ups to ensure impartiality and fairness during the elections. The resolution highlighted the importance of holding simultaneous elections to all assemblies across the country to avoid the potential marginalization of smaller provinces’ role in the federation if separate elections were held in Punjab, the largest federating unit with over 50% of the National Assembly seats.
Last week, the Supreme Court of Pakistan declared the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision to postpone polls in the province “unconstitutional,” in a blow to the government trying to delay the provincial election citing security issues and the economic crisis.
On March 22, the ECP delayed the provincial assembly election in the politically crucial Punjab province by more than five months, citing the deteriorating security situation in the country. Since his ouster last April, in a no-confidence vote in Parliament, PTI Chairman Imran Khan has been demanding early elections. However, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has dismissed the demand and kept to elections scheduled for later this year.
