ISLAMABAD: Atto­rney General for Paki­stan Shahzad Ata Elahi on Wednesday endorsed the position taken by the Election Comm­ission of Pakistan (ECP) over the controversial announcement of date for general elections to Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) assemblies.

Informed sources told Dawn that the AGP, who had been invited by the commission to give his opinion over the matter, described president’s recent move ‘unconstitutional’ saying that he had no powers to announce dates for the provincial assembly elections.

He said the constitutional position was very clear and under Article 105, it is for the governor concerned to announce date for election in case of dissolution of an assembly.

The Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies were dissolved on January 14 and January 18, respectively, and under the Constitution, the polls are to be held within 90 days after dissolution.

Law violation inevitable

An official source confirmed to Dawn that violation of the Constitution or the Elections Act, 1997 was becoming ‘inevitable’, despite the intervention by the superior judiciary, as the law required at least 44-day gap between the announcement of the schedule and the polling day, which would not be possible even if the schedule was out within the next couple of days.

Published in Dawn, February 23rd, 2023