By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: President Arif Alvi on Friday announced April 30 as the date for holding elections for provincial Punjab assembly after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) suggested possible poll dates between April 30 and May 7.
The ECP’s statement on dates for Punjab polls came days after the Supreme Court of Pakistan ruled that elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) provinces should be held within 90 days of the dissolution of the provincial legislatures.
The provincial assemblies in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa were dissolved on January 14 and January 18 respectively, before the expiry of their mandated five-year terms on the orders of former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan.
PTI’ Khan dissolved both the assemblies in a bid to force the coalition government of the Prime Miniister Shehbaz Sharif to announce early nationwide polls.
Last month, President Alvi, a close Khan aide, also announced elections in both provinces on April 9, but the government said Alvi did not have the authority to make such a call. The tug of war between the government and the opposition PTI prompted the apex court to intervene in the matter, asking the ECP to propose a date that “deviates to the barest minimum” if the 90-day deadline was not met.
“President Dr. Arif Alvi has announced the date of 30th April 2023 (Sunday) for holding the general elections of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab,” read a tweet on the president’s official Twitter account.
“He announced the date after considering dates proposed by Election Commission of Pakistan.”
In its statement, the ECP had proposed Punjab elections between April 30 and May 7.
“The election commission is ready to discharge its constitutional and legal duties after the selection of the date by the president,” the ECP statement read.
The election body said it had sent a letter to the KP governor, seeking a response in view of the apex court verdict.
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