Pakistan’s election regulator to announce national poll schedule in December, dismisses rumors of delay

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will release the schedule for the upcoming national polls in December, confirmed its top official on Friday, amid speculations of a possible delay in the electoral exercise despite the release of the final list of constituencies earlier in the day.
The ECP announced last month the vote, originally expected in November and then scheduled for the last week of January, would instead take place on Feb. 8, a date chosen following consultations with the country’s President Dr. Arif Alvi that were requested by the Supreme Court.
Pakistan’s parliament was dissolved by the president on then Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s advice on Aug. 9, setting the stage for a national election amid political and economic crises. A caretaker administration subsequently took over with the constitutional mandate to hold new elections in 90 days.
According to Pakistan’s Geo News, Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja had a brief and informal chat with journalists after the ECP released the list of national and provincial constituencies for the national polls.
Asked about when the commission planned to release the election scheduled, he said: “Count 54 days backwards from February 8,” suggesting that the announcement could be expected in the third week of December.
Pakistan’s previous administration amended the Elections Act to empower the ECP to fix and announce the election date and specifying the timeline for the announcement of the election schedule which needs to be done about 54 days before the polling day.
The election commissioner also dismissed fears of any further delays in the national polls, saying the ECP had been “proactively handling election-related responsibilities” to ensure fair and transparent electoral contest in the country.