ECP refutes President Alvi’s statement on election postponement

Refuting the statement given by President Arif Alvi in which he had said that he was not sure whether general elections would be held in the country in January as announced by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), the ECP on Thursday said categorically there was no truth in such kind of speculations, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

Informing that all arrangements in this regard were complete, spokesman for the ECP said it had already made its position clear on the issue.

He regretted that the statement the president had given in an interview created an impression that perhaps the elections might be postponed. “But the fact is that the first phase of demarcations of constituencies is already complete. And the second phase of the submission of objections will conclude tomorrow (October 27, 2023),” he said, adding, “Hearing of objections to the demarcations made in the first phase will begin from October 30, while on November 30, 2023, the election commission would publish the final list of delimitations.”

After the issuance of the final list, the spokesman went on to say, the election schedule would be announced. “There is no doubt in that,” he said categorically.

The president had on Wednesday stirred a controversy by raising doubts on the timing of general elections, which are slated to be held in the last week of January as per the announcement made by the Election Commission of Pakistan.

In an interview with a private news channel, the president said he did not see polls taking place in January.

Reporter Usman Khan