ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Caretaker Information Minister Murtaza Solangi has said that the interim administration does not have the authority to postpone general elections scheduled for February 8, the state-run Radio Pakistan said on Tuesday, amid widespread fears that polls would be delayed further in the South Asian country.
Elections in Pakistan were originally expected to take place in November after the country’s national and two provincial assemblies were dissolved in August before their tenure expired. However, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) decided to redraw hundreds of national and provincial constituencies based on a digital census carried out in April, before arranging the electoral contest.
Former prime minister Imran Khan and political experts have repeatedly expressed fears that polls would be delayed in the South Asian country, as a precarious security and economic situation persists in Pakistan. Last week, Pakistan’s Senate approved a non-binding proposal by an independent member to delay national polls due to cold weather that brings life to a standstill in most parts of the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and southwestern Balochistan provinces.
A section of local media on Sunday reported that the ECP secretary had resigned, raising further concerns about polls being postponed beyond February 8. However, the ECP was quick to clarify that it remains “fully functional” and there is no hindrance in its duties for polls.
“Caretaker Minister for Information and Broadcasting Murtaza Solangi says caretaker government has no authority to postpone the elections,” Radio Pakistan said. It added that the information minister was speaking during a program on Pakistan Television (PTV).
Solangi said it is the ECP’s prerogative to give or change the date for polls in the country as per Article 218(3) of the constitution.
“The Minister acknowledged that problems are there but these are not so grave to postpone the elections,” Radio Pakistan said. He reiterated the government’s resolve to “fully support” the election oversight body to hold free, fair and transparent polls on February 8.
Pakistan is currently being run by a caretaker government under interim Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar that is meant to oversee a general election. Caretakers are usually limited to overseeing elections, but Kakar’s set-up is the most empowered in Pakistan’s history thanks to a legislation that allows it to make policy decisions on economic matters.
The legislation was aimed at keeping on track the conditions for a $3 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout secured in June.
Political analysts fear a prolonged period without an elected government would allow the military, which has ruled Pakistan for over three decades since independence in 1947 and wields considerable control even if not in power, to consolidate control.
