Delayed Elections
LAHORE: Jailed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan expressed dissatisfaction with President Arif Alvi’s failure to ensure timely elections in the country.
Imran Khan’s sister, speaking to the media in Lahore after a hearing of the Jinnah House attack case in the anti-terrorism court (ATC), quoted Khan as saying that the president had not exercised his constitutional powers to ensure elections within 90 days.
Last month, President Arif Alvi recommended a deadline for holding polls in a letter to the chief election commissioner (CEC), just days before the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) announced that general elections in the country would occur in the last week of January 2024.
In the letter, the president asserted that, in accordance with Article 48(5) of the Constitution, he had the authority and mandate to “appoint a date not later than 90 days from the date of dissolution [of assemblies] for holding a general election to the assembly.”
The letter also specified that the general election to the National Assembly should take place within the eighty-ninth day of the dissolution of the National Assembly, which was Monday, the 6th day of November 2023.
However, his letter did not meet the PTI’s expectations, as they wanted President Alvi to announce the exact date of the elections rather than suggesting a cut-off date to the CEC.
Aleema also noted that Imran Khan, despite losing weight, remained in high spirits while in prison. She mentioned that Imran Khan believed there was a plot to keep him incarcerated for an extended period in the cipher case.
Aleema added that a petition had been filed to provide Imran Khan with walking space and gym equipment in Adiala jail. Overall, Imran Khan expresses frustration with President Alvi over delayed elections, impacting his election campaign launch.
