President Alvi asks ECP to propose dates for holding general elections 

President Alvi asks ECP to propose dates for holding general elections 

Islamabad (Web Desk) President Dr Arif Alvi on Wednesday wrote to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to propose dates to hold general elections within 90 days will be held within 90 days following the dissolution of the National Assembly, the President House said Wednesday.

"In a letter dated April 5, 2022 addressed to ECP, the President’s Secretariat asked to propose date(s) for holding general elections within 90 days from the date of dissolution of the National Assembly, April 3, 2022, in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution of Pakistan," the President House said in a statement.

The letter mentioned that ECP has been conveyed that clause 5 (A) of the Article 48 and clause 2 of Article 224 of the Constitution provide that the President shall appoint a date, not later than 90 days from the date of dissolution of the National Assembly, for holding general elections to the National Assembly.

"In order to carry out the mandate of the Constitution of announcing the date of general elections, consultation with the Election Commission is required under Section 57(1) of the Elections Act, 2017," the letter stated.

The development comes after National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri threw out a no-confidence motion against PM Imran and the president dissolved the lower house of Parliament on the former's advice on April 3.

The Supreme Court (SC) is currently hearing the matter to decide the legality of the deputy speaker's ruling and the subsequent actions and orders of the prime minister and the president.