Following persistent appeals for the announcement of the date for general elections in Pakistan, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has officially set the date for the general elections as February 11 next year. This announcement came during a hearing in the Supreme Court in response to petitions urging timely elections.
Previously, the Supreme Court had issued notices to the ECP and the federal government, requesting their input on holding elections within 90 days. The Chief Justice of Pakistan emphasized the unanimous desire for elections and clarified that there is no lack of interest in this matter.
In September, the ECP had vaguely mentioned that general elections would occur in the last week of January. The ECP's counsel, Sajeel Swati, stated that the process of defining constituencies would be completed by January 29, paving the way for the polls. The elections are scheduled to take place after the completion of delimitation on November 30.
The bench overseeing this process consisted of Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa, Justice Athar Minallah, and Justice Amin-Ud-Din Khan.
Pakistan has been experiencing political uncertainty since the removal of Imran Khan's government through a no-confidence motion in April 2022.
Subsequently, the Shehbaz Sharif-led government dissolved the National Assembly on August 9, and the Sindh and Balochistan assemblies were also prematurely dissolved to facilitate elections within 90 days.
(Inputs from ANI)
