Election Date
On Wednesday, President Dr. Arif Alvi wrote a letter to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja, proposing November 6 as the date for elections.
In the letter, the president stated that he had dissolved the National Assembly on the prime minister’s advice on August 9. He cited Article 48(5) of the Constitution, which, he asserted, “empowers and mandates the president to appoint a date not later than 90 days from the date of the dissolution for the holding of a general election to the Assembly.”
The letter stated, “According to Article 48(5), the general election to the National Assembly should occur within 89 days from the National Assembly’s dissolution, specifically on Monday, November 6, 2023.”
In the letter, the president recounted that he had invited the chief election commissioner for a meeting to formulate the modalities for implementing the constitutional intent and mandate to fulfill the constitutional obligations.
However, in his reply, the CEC “took a contrary view that, as per the scheme of the Constitution and framework of electoral laws, it was the domain of the Election Commission, and following the publication of the last preceding census on August 7, duly notified delimitation of constituencies was in progress, a mandatory requirement stipulated by Article 51(5) of the Constitution and Section 17 of the Elections Act, 2017,” the letter said.
Moreover, it added, the law ministry also held the same view on the matter.
China Becomes First Country To Make An Ambassadorial Appointment To Afghanistan Since Taliban Takeover
Moreover, a new Chinese ambassador has presented his credentials to the Taliban’s prime minister in Kabul, marking the first appointment of a foreign envoy at the ambassadorial level since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 2021. It’s important to note that no foreign government has officially recognized the Taliban. The appointment of the new Chinese ambassador raises questions about whether Beijing is moving towards formal recognition of the Taliban, although there has been no official confirmation of such recognition from China.
