General Election 2024: President, ECP agree on date of Feb 8

ISLAMABAD: President of Pakistan and Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) have agreed on the date of Feb 8 2024 for the general elections in the country, Bol TV reported on Thursday.

Sources said that President Dr Arif Alvi has proposed February 8 2024 for holding elections in the country. The ECP also accepted the date suggested by the President.

Later on, the electoral watchdog issued a statement and announced the date of February 8 for elections. It added that the President of the country has proposed the said date to hold elections.

The statement further said that the Election Commission has also agreed with the date and prepared a report, which will be submitted to the Supreme Court on Friday (tomorrow).

Earlier, as per some media reports, the President and ECP had failed to agree on the date of the elections and the Attorney General mediated between the Presidency and the ECP to reach some agreed date for the elections.

He conveyed the messages of the President and ECP to one another to resolve the issue. And at last, he succeeded to get the issue resolved amicably.

It is pertinent to mention here that President Dr. Arif Alvi held an hour-long meeting with a delegation led by the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) at the President’s House.

It has been revealed that the Election Commission will present the details of this significant meeting to the top court, and the dates proposed by President Alvi will also be conveyed to the court.

Following their discussions with the President, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) delegation arrived at the Central Secretariat. However, both the CEC and delegation members refrained from commenting on the meeting with the President when approached by the media.

Earlier in the day, the ECP delegation, led by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, visited the President’s House to finalize the date for the general elections in 2024, as per the Supreme Court’s directives. The delegation included the ECP secretary, four members, and the DG Law.

It is expected that the President will make a decision on the election date in a crucial meeting today, according to insider information.

This development follows the Election Commission of Pakistan’s statement to the Supreme Court that the general elections in the country will take place on February 11, 2024. The ECP’s lawyer, Sajeel Swati, informed the three-member bench that elections would be held after the completion of delimitation on November 30. All preparations, including delimitation, would be completed by January 29, he added.

Explaining the delimitation process, the lawyer mentioned that it would take 3 to 5 days to issue the final lists. By counting 54 days from December 5, they arrived at the January 29 date.

The lawyer also noted that the ECP was considering holding the polls on a Sunday to facilitate greater public participation.

Under this plan, the first Sunday would fall on February 4, with the second on February 11. The decision to hold the elections on Sunday, February 11, was made by the ECP itself.

A three-member bench, led by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa and comprising Justice Aminuddin Khan and Justice Athar Minallah, heard the pleas.

The petitioners, including the Supreme Court Bar, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and others, argued that the general elections should be held within 90 days of the assembly’s dissolution as per the Constitution. The Supreme Court directed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to consult with the President of Pakistan regarding the final election date.