Pakistan president announces elections in key province on April 30

By Islamuddin Sajid

ISLAMABAD (AA) - Pakistani President Arif Alvi on Friday announced elections in the major province of Punjab on April 30.

The development came after a long political impasse which saw the country's Supreme Court ordering elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces within 90 days.

"The ECP (Election Commission of Pakistan) had proposed a poll date between 30th April to 7th May 2023 for holding general elections of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab, and had further suggested to hold elections preferably on a Sunday," the President's Office said in a statement.

On Wednesday, a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court announced the judgment on the suo moto case with a 3-2 majority, directing the election body to immediately announce the date for fresh elections in the two provinces.

The assemblies of the two provinces were dissolved by former Prime Minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party on Jan. 14 in an attempt to compel the coalition government for snap elections, which are scheduled in October this year.

The country's Constitution requires that new elections be held within 90 days of the dissolution of any of the country's legislative assemblies, both central and provincial. The government, however, insists on holding national and provincial elections simultaneously.

The government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has rejected the demand for early election citing economic challenges the country faces including ongoing talks with the International Monetary Fund for a financial bailout.

The PTI welcomed the announcement of elections in Punjab.

This will be for the first time in Pakistan's 75-year political history that the provincial and central elections will be held separately, which according to some constitutional experts, will further complicate the country's already tense political atmosphere.