Islamabad: On Thursday, a day after the electoral supervisor postponed the Punjab election to October 8. Federal ministers rallied behind the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision. They said it was the wisest option given the country’s perilous economic and security condition.
For political and economic stability, Federal Minister for Law and Justice Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar recommended a national election.
He said the ECP had postponed Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa elections due to security, political, and economic issues. Afterward, social media had launched an attack without understanding the facts.
The minister told Article 218 of the Constitution requires the ECP to hold free and fair elections.
He said the ECP didn’t deem the current environment fit for polls because terrorism has increased in the country in recent months and state institutions had informed it about security difficulties.
He stated the security organisations were engaged with borders, internal security, and census, so heavy deployment for the elections was not possible.
The minister noted that Article 224 of the Constitution required nationwide general elections and that Article 254 allowed for postponement in extraordinary circumstances. He stated elections postponed for various reasons before. Since 1997, the election held at the same time. “We have to utilise the country’s resources in a favourable way for economic boost as there is a need to enhance exports and minimise imports,” stated the law minister.
He said the new digital census, which would take six weeks, was necessary for the general elections.
Maryam Aurangzeb Stance
On Thursday, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said the ECP’s Punjab Assembly election postponement was good for Pakistan.
“The Electoral Commission considered economic, political, and security factors,” she stated. The minister said the ECP spared the country from a major constitutional crisis and will provide political stability.
Marriyum claimed that Article 218 of the Constitution required the ECP to provide transparent, impartial, and fair elections.
She said Article 224 needed federal and provincial caretaker governments after elections.
The minister said the ECP consulted stakeholders before making this decision. She worried that one man’s ego was forcing elections in two provinces.
Since Punjab and K-P assemblies finished six months before the National Parliament and other two provincial assemblies, holding polls in two provinces on April 30 would have caused a perpetual issue. The census was underway, therefore elections in two provinces before and in others after the census were impossible.
