LAHORE: Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto today [March 27] said the passage of the Electoral Rolls Bill was merely a Constitutional requirement, but in a parliamentary democracy a situation could arise at any moment which might necessitate the nation going to the polls. The Government was proceeding according to the time-table to have the Bills passed to complete the whole constitutional process. … The main amendment to the Bill was to reduce the voting age from 21 to 18.

The Prime Minister made these remarks when a correspondent pointed out that the consideration of the … Bill … had introduced a fresh element of interest. … Mr. Bhutto maintained that the Government’s efforts to implement the Constitution in this regard always led to speculations for which there was no need. … He recalled that during a meeting with him ... some members of the Opposition had demanded that there should be no surprise or snap elections and he had given them the necessary assurance. … He, however, pointed out that if there was any need for any elections under the terms of the Constitution … “ … the Constitution must be fully ready to meet the situation”.

Published in Dawn, March 28th, 2024