ISLAMABAD: The government and former prime minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party have formed a consensus on holding elections across the country on the same date, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said on Tuesday.
Dar's announcement came after a PTI delegation completed its third round of negotiations with the government as both sides attempt to form a consensus on holding elections across the country.
The controversy was triggered when the PTI and its ally dissolved the provincial assemblies of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab provinces in January to force the government to call early elections across Pakistan. Pakistan's constitution says elections must be held within 90 days of the dissolution of an assembly when it expires before its tenure ends.
Historically, Pakistan has held voting for provincial and national assemblies on the same day. PM Shehbaz Sharif's coalition government has reiterated it would only agree to elections being held on the same day across Pakistan.
In an effort to resolve the political impasse, Pakistan's top court directed both sides to hold discussions and form a consensus on the date for elections.
"I think it is huge progress," Dar told reporters after the meeting. "To form a consensus that elections should take place all over the country on the same day and that there should be caretaker governments throughout the country, it is huge progress."
Dar said both sides have yet to decide on a date for elections, adding that they were trying to show "flexibility" over the matter.
Former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gillani said the government and opposition had also agreed to accept the results of the upcoming elections whenever they are announced.
"We have said that whoever wins elections, [the other side] will accept it. There should not be chaos in the country later," Gillani added.
In Pakistan, allegations of rigging and street protests after election outcomes are announced are common. Former PM Khan held a sit-in protest in Islamabad against the government of then prime minister Nawaz Sharif in 2014, protesting against alleged rigging.
Separately, PTI Vice President Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who led the party's team in the negotiations, said the PTI had asked the government to dissolve Sindh, Balochistan, and national assemblies on or before May 14 and hold elections after 60 days.
He said a "constitutional cover" would be given to these measures.
"To give that constitutional cover, the PTI is ready to go to the National Assembly," Qureshi said. "And, we are ready for a one-time or one-off amendment."
Qureshi said both sides had not formed a consensus yet on the dates of the dissolution of the rest of the assemblies and the holding of elections.
"We came close, but we were not able to form a consensus," he said.
