Former president and Pakistan People’s Party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari on Saturday expressed his confidence in Election Commission of Pakistan, saying fresh delimitation has become mandatory after the new census was notified.
In a statement issued by the PPP on its social media, the co-chairman expressed full confidence in Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja and all ECP members hoping that the commission will hold elections according to the Constitution.
Zardari’s remarks came after a number of PPP leaders, including its chairman Bilawal Bhutto, demanded the ECP announce the election date, adding polls should be held in 90 days according to the Constitution.
Asif Ali Zardari also urged the caretaker government to complete the initiatives taken under the Special Investment Facilitation Council.
“The country is currently going through an economic crisis. We all should worry about the economy first instead of politics,” the former president added.
The shift in PPP’s stance came a day after PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto urged the ECP to announce the date for general polls and adhere to the constitutional requirement of holding elections within 90 days.
The ECP has ruled out elections this year, while the 90-day limit for holding polls following the dissolution of the National Assembly, as mandated under Article 224 of the Constitution, ends on November 9.
It reasons its decision to push elections beyond November 9 on the basis of the notification of results of the new digital 2023 census and Section 17(2) of the Elections Act, which states: “The commission shall delimit constituencies after every census is officially published.”
About the prevailing economic crisis, he called on political parties to prioritise the economy over politics. “We all exist as long as the country exists.”
