Elections to be held on February 8

Liaquat Ali

Islamabad: Acting on the instructions of Supreme Court of Pakistan, Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja and President Dr Arif Alvi deliberated on the matter of upcoming elections at a meeting held at Aiwan-e-Sadr on Thursday and unanimously agreed to hold general elections in the country on February 8, 2024.

“On today’s order of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, the Chief Election Commissioner of Pakistan, Mr Sikandar Sultan Raja, along with the Attorney General for Pakistan, Mr Mansoor Usman Awan, and four members of the Election Commission of Pakistan, came to meet President Dr Arif Alvi, at Aiwan-e-Sadr, to discuss the date for holding the forthcoming General Elections in the country,” read a statement issued by the Presidency.

It said the president heard about the progress the ECP has made in delimitation and for elections, adding that after a detailed discussion, the meeting unanimously agreed to hold general elections in the country on February 8, 2024.

During the meeting, CEC Raja had officially put forward February 11, 2024, as the proposed date for the upcoming general elections to the presidency.

In a separate development, Attorney General for Pakistan, Mansoor Awan, arrived at the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) office to engage in further discussions, as instructed by the apex court.

This development comes after a three-member bench of the Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice of Pakistan, Qazi Faez Isa, and including Justice Aminuddin Khan and Justice Athar Minallah, directed the attorney general to facilitate a meeting between the Chief Election Commissioner and the President.

The bench also mandated the relevant authorities to submit the final election date to the court on Friday when the hearing resumes.

During the meeting, ECP officials, in accordance with the Supreme Court’s guidance, proposed February 11 as the recommended date for conducting the general elections.

As of now, both the Chief Election Commissioner and the President are yet to reach a unanimous agreement on the formal announcement of the election date, and further deliberations are expected soon.