Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Haji Ghulam Ali on Tuesday suggested May 28 as the election date in the province to the Election Commission of Pakistan.
Speaking to reporters after a meeting with Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, the KP governor said “my work is to give the date for the elections in the province but conducting the polls falls under the electoral watchdog’s domain.”
The KP governor said the meeting with the election commission officials was held in a “good atmosphere”.
He cited the law and order situation as “a real problem”, and mentioned how the police came under attack in KP’s Lakki Marwat district.
“The election commission and government are bound to follow the orders of the Supreme Court,” he said, adding that “the people in KP have doubts regarding the census carried out in the province”.
However, in the same media talk, Governor Ghulam said he “does not see elections happening”.
Earlier in the day, the KP governor also met President Dr Arif Alvi, who advised him to “forthwith” announce the date for general elections to the KP Assembly to “avoid any complication”.
According to a press release issued by the President’s Secretariat, the KP governor called on Alvi at the Aiwan-i-Sadr and discussed matters related to the holding of general elections.
“The president advised Ali to implement the apex court’s order in letter and spirit wherein it had been directed that the KP governor, after consultation with the Election Commission of Pakistan, forthwith appoint a date for the holding of the general election to the provincial assembly to avoid any complication as almost a period of two weeks had already passed,” it said.
