President Alvi to announce election date anytime soon, sources
If situation persists, country may drift towards another constitutional crisis, insiders say.
President Dr. Arif Alvi is expected to announce the date for the general elections anytime, sources privy to the development claimed on Monday.
According to the sources, the matter of the election date was discussed in a meeting of President Alvi with the Caretaker Federal Minister for Law and Justice Ahmed Irfan Aslam.
The caretaker law minister was of the view that the announcement of the election date is the prerogative of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
Insiders claim that President Alvi’s legal team as well as the Attorney General for Pakistan have explicitly informed him that following amendments to the Election Act, he no longer has the authority to announce election dates.
The meeting between the government official and the president was part of the ongoing consultation regarding the general polls. a President House in a statement notified.
“The continuation of the consultation process with good intentions will prove to be productive for the democracy in the country,” the president remarked.
If the situation persists, the country may find itself in the throes of another constitutional crisis, the sources added.
It is pertinent to mention here that Dr. Arif Alvi’s five-year tenure as the country’s president concluded on Friday following which a cloud of uncertainty is hanging over whether or how he will continue in his role.
As per the Constitution, he can remain the president until the election of a new head of state.
On the other hand, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) called upon President Alvi to announce the date for the elections in a letter written by the party’s General Secretary Omar Ayub Khan.
انتخابات کے انعقاد کی تاریخ کے تعین کا معاملہ
پاکستان تحریک انصاف نے صدرِ مملکت ڈاکٹر عارف علوی سے انتخابات کی تاریخ کے فوری اعلان کا مطالبہ کر دیا
مرکزی سیکرٹری جنرل عمرایوب خان کا صدر مملکت ڈاکٹر عارف علوی کے نام خط
دستور کا آرٹیکل 48(5) صدر کی جانب سے قومی اسمبلی کی… pic.twitter.com/dg27XdQouG
— PTI (@PTIofficial) September 11, 2023
