The meeting in Peshawar on Wednesday between a delegation of Election Commission of Pakistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governor ended inconclusively as the latter has failed to give any date for elections to the provincial assembly, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

Sources said that consultation between the ECP delegation and KP Governor Haji Ghulam Ali failed to produce any result as the latter did not suggest any election date during meeting. 

The governor will hold another meeting with Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja next week, sources added.

The ECP delegation comprised secretary election commission, special secretary and the DG law. The ECP delegation gave briefing to KP Governor Ghulam Ali.  

The ECP issued a statement after the conclusion of today’s meeting between the commission’s delegation and the KP governor. 

According to the statement, the KP governor is responsible to give date for the elections in the province. It is mandatory to hold elections within or less than 90 days (after the dissolution of the provincial assembly). 

The KP governor has been told that the commission is making preparations for the elections. 

The statement further reads that the ECP is in contact with the interim provincial setup and security institutions. It also says that the matter will be finalized soon.

Earlier, the ECP delegation reached Peshawar on the invitation of KP Governor Ghulam Ali to make consultations on general elections in the province.  

Governor of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Ghulam Ali on Monday had invited the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for consultation, saying he would give a date for polls after deliberation.

A few days ago, the Supreme Court announced its verdict after two-day-long proceedings in the case regarding the delay in the announcement of the date for provincial elections in Punjab and KP.

The apex court ordered that elections in both assemblies should be held in the next 90 days, with the chief justice saying that "democracy cannot exist without assemblies".

Following the top court's decision, the ECP had written a letter to the KP governor seeking a date for the elections, to which Ghulam Ali responded on Monday.

The governor said that he would evaluate the situation and set a date for the provincial assembly elections following consultation with ECP officials.

President Dr Arif Alvi has already announced that elections in Punjab province will be held on April 30.

PTI, the party Alvi belongs to, has called for free and fair elections in both provinces. In the past, PTI has criticised the delay in the announcement of election dates in the provinces, arguing that it is an infringement on democratic rights. The party has also called for the ECP to ensure transparent and impartial conduct of the electoral process.

By bringing forward the provincial polls, political analysts say PTI could pressure the coalition PDM government into holding a countrywide election earlier—a demand the party has been making since chairman Imran Khan was ousted as prime minister in April after losing a parliamentary vote of confidence.

The ECP has geared up preparations for the elections in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and is likely to release the schedule this week.

 

Reporter Usman Khan