The controversy surrounding Pakistan’s general election was further increased as President Arif Alvi has written a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) proposing that the polls should take place on November 6.
President Alvi asserted his authority under Article 48(5) of the Constitution, which allows him “to appoint a date not later than 90 days from the date of dissolution [of assemblies] for holding a general election to the assembly.”
He pointed out that the National Assembly was dissolved on August 9, 2023, based on the advice of the then-Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif.
According to Article 48(5), the president argued that the general election to the National Assembly should occur by the 89th day from the date of dissolution, which would be November 6, 2023.
In an effort to fulfill constitutional obligations, President Alvi, earlier in the last month, invited CEC Sikander Sultan Raja for a meeting to discuss the modalities of setting an election date. However, the CEC took a different stance, asserting that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had the authority under the Constitution and electoral laws to decide such matters.
The CEC also noted that the delimitation of constituencies, as required by Article 51(5) and Section 17 of the Elections Act, 2017, was in progress after the publication of the 2023 Census on August 7.
This viewpoint was echoed by the Ministry of Law and Justice and all provincial governments.
Furthermore, President Alvi called for the general elections to the National Assembly and all provincial assemblies to be conducted on the same date, further complicating the matter.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz-led (PML-N) coalition government dissolved the National Assembly on August 9, with the Sindh and Balochistan assemblies also being prematurely dissolved to allow the electoral authority to hold elections within 90 days instead of the typical 60 days if the legislature had completed its constitutional tenure.
If the elections were to be held within the 90-day limit, they would have been due on November 9, 2023. However, the Council of Common Interest (CCI) had unanimously approved the 7th Population and Housing Census 2023 before dissolving the assemblies. Article 51(5) of the Constitution mandates that seats in the National Assembly be allocated based on the new census data.
