The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Monday confirmed that it cannot participate in a consultative session with President Dr Arif Alvi regarding electoral dates for the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assembly polls as the matter was subjudice.
A letter from the ECP Secretary Omar Hamid Khan stated that the ECP meeting “decided that the matter being subjudice, the Commission cannot participate in a meeting on the subject matter with the Office of the President”.
It may be noted that President Alvi had invited Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja for an ‘urgent meeting’ on February 20 for consultations on the dates for the polls in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Punjab.
The meeting was scheduled to take place at Aiwan-e-Sadr in accordance with Section 57(1) of the Elections Act, 2017, which provides that the president is entrusted to announce the date for the polls after consulting the ECP.
“The commission is well aware of its constitutional and legal obligations and has already conveyed its response to the earlier letter, dated February 8, 2023, explaining the complete background [of the matter],” stated the letter penned by Secretary ECP Omar Hamid Khan.
