Therefore, in terms of Article 48(5), general elections to the National embly should be held by the 89th day after the date of dissolution of the National embly, i.e. 6 November 2023, the letter said.
Pakistan President Arif Alvi on Wednesday wrote a letter to Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja and unilaterally proposed November 6 as the date of general elections. In the letter, Alvi said that he had dissolved the National embly on August 9 on the advice of the Prime Minister. He then referred to Article 48(5) of the Constitution, which he said empowers and orders the President to appoint a date within 90 days from the date of dissolution for holding general elections to the embly. Therefore, in terms of Article 48(5), general elections to the National embly should be held by the 89th day after the date of dissolution of the National embly, i.e. 6 November 2023, the letter said.
Who will decide the date of voting
However, the CEC has said that it is within its jurisdiction to decide the date of general elections. Ideally the elections should be held within 90 days of August 9. However, the decision of the outgoing Shehbaz Sharif government to approve the 2023 census has complicated the matter. Following this decision the ECP announced a delimitation programme, which effectively ruled out the possibility of elections this year. The ECP has said that the elections will be moved beyond the constitutionally mandated cutoff date after the notification of the new 2023 digital census results. The ECP bases its decision on section 17(2) of the Electoral Act, which states. The Commission will delimit constituencies after each census is officially published. Furthermore, the Law Ministry also had the same view on the matter, saying that all four provincial governments were of the opinion that the announcement of the election date was an order of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
single date for voting
Recognizing that it is the responsibility of the ECP to follow all constitutional and legal steps prescribed under Articles 51, 218, 219, 220 and the Elections Act, 2017 for organizing and conducting free and fair elections, the President advised that the ECP , “In consultation with the provincial governments and political parties under the relevant provisions of the Constitution and considering that some of these matters are already under consideration, calls on the senior judiciary to announce the same date of general elections for the National and Provincial emblies Can ask for guidance.