The president announced the date by exercising his power under Section 57 (1) of the Elections Act, 2017.
Amid delay from the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) over the announcement of elections date, President Dr Arif Alvi on Monday announced to hold polls in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab on April 9.
The president announced the date by exercising his power under Section 57 (1) of the Elections Act, 2017, he further asked the electoral body to issue an election programme in accordance with Section 57 (2) of the Act.
Last week, the president had summoned Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja for an urgent meeting on February 20 (Monday) for consultation regarding the date of the poll as he lambasted him over ECP’s “poignant approach” regarding the general elections date.
However, the election commissioner had excused itself from holding consultations with President Alvi for the time being, saying that the matter was already under judicial consideration.
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In his letter to the CEC, the president said that he was under oath to “preserve, protect and defend” the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan under Article 42 read with the third Schedule of the Constitution.
He wrote that there being no restraining order from any of the judicial fora, there was no impediment in invoking the power and authority vested in him under Section 57 (1) of the Elections Act, 2017, “empowering him to announce the date or dates of the general elections after consultation with the Commission”.
Therefore, the president added, he had felt it necessary to perform his constitutional and statutory duty to announce the date of elections to avoid the infringement and breach of the Constitution and law i.e., holding of elections not later than ninety days.
