ECP says by-polls in Punjab, KP to be held within 60 days of resignations

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Monday asserted that by-polls will be held within 60 days if mass resignations were served in Punjab and KP assemblies.

The statement from the electoral watchdog came after former prime minister Imran Khan announced on Saturday that his party was leaving all provincial assemblies and opting out of the “corrupt political system”.

ECP Spokesperson Ibrahim Shinwari, in a statement today, clarified that if the provincial assemblies were to be dissolved, elections will only be carried out on the seats of those particular assemblies rather than the National Assembly seats.

The ECP official acknowledged that it would be difficult to hold by-polls and general elections in the same year but added that the Commission was bound by the law to carry out the task.

“Delimitations of constituencies and holding local-body polls was also a difficult task but we still did it,” Shinwari said. “We will hold the by-polls according to the law even if it will be difficult to do so.”

The ECP spokesperson said if KP and Punjab assemblies get dissolved, the Commission will have to hold elections on combined 411 seats, and the complete cost of the entire process will be Rs22 billion approximately.

“The cost of by elections in each constituency will be Rs50 to 70 million,” he added.

Meeting summoned to mull dissolution of assemblies: Fawad

Earlier today, former information minister Fawad Chaudhry said a meeting comprising the senior leadership of PTI had been summoned to mull the decision of dissolving the KP and Punjab assemblies.

The PTI leader, in a tweet, said the matter of tendering resignations from the Balochistan and Sindh assemblies will also be under discussion.

“Sixty-four per cent seats of Pakistan will be vacant and pave the way for general elections,” he stated.

Over the weekend, the PTI chairman had announced his party’s intention to disassociate itself from the “current corrupt political system” by quitting the assemblies of K-P and Punjab.

However, a final decision would only be taken after consultations with chief ministers in both provinces, while a final decision in this regard would be made after a meeting of the PTI’s parliamentary party, he had said.

The announcement came during a mammoth PTI public meeting in Rawalpindi, Imran’s first public appearance since the attempt on his life in Wazirabad on Nov 3.

Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervez Elahi had also brushed aside concerns of any resistance from him regarding PTI’s planned dissolution of Punjab assembly, acknowledging that he owed his government to PTI chief Imran Khan and would oblige to his instructions immediately.

It is pertinent to mention that Elahi is in power in Punjab due to the support of PTI.

Some analysts had doubted that Imran would be able to follow through with his plan, saying that Elahi would resist any such move.

However, in a video message , the PML-Q leader had said the incumbent Punjab government was established on the PTI chairman’s mandate, adding that “Imran has posed his trust in us.”