ECP informs the Senate that elections cannot be postponed in order to address poll delay

The electoral authority claims to have committed to holding elections on February 8, 2024, before the Supreme Court.

ISLAMABAD: The Senate resolution requesting a postponement of the polls on February 8 was denied by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), which asserted that all preparations had already been made and that it would not be “advisable” to do so.

The ECP statement is a reaction to the Senate’s resolution from January 5, which was introduced by Senator Dilawar Khan and approved by the parliament despite low attendance.

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The resolution had given two grounds for postponing the polls: the deteriorating security situation and the severe weather in highland areas.

The ECP said in a statement today that it discussed the resolution during the meeting and noted that directives had been given to caretaker governments to “beef up security matrix and provide congenial environment to the electorate” in order to ensure peaceful elections.

Additionally, the electoral authority stated that it promised to hold elections on February 8, 2024, and that it filed this pledge with the Supreme Court.

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In a same vein, the ECP stated that it would not be inappropriate to bring up the fact that previous general elections and municipal elections were conducted during the winter.