ISLAMABAD: Sources reported on Friday that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is contemplating setting January 28, 2024, as the date for the General Elections.
The ECP, which has initiated its preparations for the upcoming elections, is expected to formally inform the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SC) in writing within the next two days.
The ECP’s communication to the SC is in response to the top court’s request regarding the timely conduct of elections. Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, leading a three-member bench with Justices Athar Minallah and Amin-Ud-Din Khan, had remarked earlier in the week that meeting the 90-day deadline for holding elections was “not possible” and expressed dissatisfaction with the preparations of the petitioners.
These comments from CJP Isa came during the apex court’s hearing on the petitions filed by the Supreme Court Bar Association, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and others, all seeking elections to be held within the constitutionally mandated 90-day limit. During the hearing, the SCBA lawyer informed the court that the “90-day period would conclude on November 3.”
In response, CJP Isa questioned the feasibility of conducting the polls within 90 days, and the lawyer acknowledged that even if the top court issued an order, it would still not be possible to hold the elections within the stipulated 90-day timeframe.
Challenges and Delays in Pakistan’s General Election Timeline
There has been uncertainty regarding the election timeline since the Shehbaz Sharif-led government dissolved the National Assembly on August 9, with the Sindh and Balochistan assemblies also dissolving early to enable the electoral authority to hold elections within 90 days. Ideally, the electoral body should have conducted polls within 60 days if the assemblies were dissolved on time.
However, the ECP decided against holding elections within the required time frame due to the Council of Common Interest (CCI) approving the 7th Population and Housing Census 2023 shortly before the assembly dissolutions. The CCI’s approval made it mandatory for the commission to conduct elections based on the fresh delimitations derived from the census results. Subsequently, on August 17, the ECP announced the schedule for new delimitations to align with the CCI-approved census.
Nevertheless, in September, the ECP announced that the general elections in the country would occur in the last week of January 2024. Before this announcement, multiple petitions were filed in the Supreme Court challenging the delay in holding the elections. All the petitioners urged the apex court to ensure that the elections take place within the 90-day timeframe.
These petitions were submitted during the tenure of former Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial but were not scheduled for a hearing.
