ISLAMABAD: President Arif Alvi and Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja reached a mutual agreement that the forthcoming general elections will take place in the country on February 8, 2024.
This development occurred following a meeting at the President’s Secretariat, where an ECP delegation led by CEC Raja and Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan conferred with President Alvi to deliberate on the election date, as stated by Alvi’s office.
The official statement confirmed, “A unanimous decision was made to conduct the election on Thursday, February 8.”
On today’s order of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, the Chief Election Commissioner of Pakistan, Mr. Sikandar Sultan Raja, along with the Attorney General for Pakistan, Mr. Mansoor Usman Awan, and four members of the Election Commission of Pakistan, came to meet pic.twitter.com/1uXi7v7Y7N
— The President of Pakistan (@PresOfPakistan) November 2, 2023
This meeting was convened in compliance with the Supreme Court’s directive, which had instructed the election commission to consult with the president and report the poll date to the court the following day (Friday).
During the Supreme Court hearing of petitions advocating for timely polls nationwide, the ECP had initially declared that the elections would be held on February 11. However, the Supreme Court instructed the commission to consult with the president, leading to the current consensus.
Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan and CEC Raja will subsequently apprise the Supreme Court of this decision.
In the order issued after the hearing, the court instructed the Attorney General to facilitate the meeting between the ECP and President Alvi, provide the president with the court’s order, and be available to offer assistance.
The court’s order concluded with the expectation that the matter of setting a date for the general elections will be resolved, and an update will be provided to the court on the following day (Friday).
(Islamabad51_Newsdesk)
