President of Pakistan, Dr. Arif Alvi on Wednesday proposed the date for general elections in the country as November 6 in a letter written to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), Sikandar Sultan Raja.
In his letter to the CEC, the President mentioned that he had dissolved the National Assembly on the prime minister?’s advice on August 9. Citing Article 48(5) of the Constitution of Pakistan, he said the article, "empowers and mandates the president ?‘to appoint a date not later than 90 days from the date of the dissolution, for the holding of a general election to the Assembly." The president said that in terms of Article 48(5), the general election to the National Assembly should be held by the 89th day of the date of dissolution of the National Assembly, i.e. Monday, November 6, 2023. The president recalled in the letter that "in an endeavour to fulfill the constitutional obligations, the chief election commissioner was invited for a meeting to devise the modalities of implementing the constitutional intent and mandate." The president?’s advice to the CEC comes against the backdrop of divided opinions among stakeholders, including political parties, on the time frame for general elections. The ECP said th at the elections will be pushed beyond the constitutionally mandated cutoff date following the notification of new 2023 digital census results.
Source: Kuwait News Agency