Pakistan General Elections 2024

Pakistan General Elections 2024: Political Parties’ Response to ECP’s Announcement

PTI Welcomes ECP’s Decision on General Elections 2024

The recent announcement about when the next general elections be held on January 19th, 2023 has been received well by influential political party leaders within Pakistan. Prominent among these were the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf which is a party with great zeal for making an early declaration and was also known as the PTI.

PTI openly supported the decision passed out by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). Senator Syed Ali Zafar from PTI wished that the process goes on successfully and there are no additional postponements.

PTI’s Response and Call for Action Against CEC

During the past 5 odd months, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has been very vocal about the announcement of the Election and urged the judiciary to take action against culprits creating hindrance in the process. The government pressurized by the people of Pakistan further stressed the ECP to announce the election date.

In addition, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf appreciated the ECP on its decision pertaining to the election date. However, the Information Secretary of the party Raoof Hasan voiced concerns that CEC Sikander Sultan had committed constitutional violations by not announcing the election date earlier. In his strong voice, Hasan demanded that appropriate action was needed to be taken against CEC and Sultan should explain his actions.

Other Major Parties’ Perspectives on ECP’s Decision

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) have all commended the latest declaration made by the ECP. The representatives emphasized that, since it was very important for democrats to preserve the democratic nature of a society, the elections must take place very quickly with full transparency and the inclusion of key representatives. The recognition of the EPC’s ruling further emphasizes the significance of a just and all-encompassing voting system in the nation’s political sphere.

PPP’s Call for Timely Elections and Accountability

Representatives of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) have particularly emphasized the necessity of elections taking place in compliance with the stipulated period, which is no more than nine days. Bukhari was not reluctant to remind the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) about its obligation to be answerable not only to the people but also to the Supreme Court, especially for abiding by the Constitution.

Moreover, Amin-ul-Haque of MQM-P reemphasized that free and fair elections should be ensured as a way of averting the reoccurrence of past shortcomings, for example, technical glitches in the RTS and late declaration of results.

President Alvi’s Agreement on Election Date with ECP

In conjunction, President Dr. Arif Alvi and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), finally agreed that 8th February 2024, should be the election day. In detailed and protracted discussions with President Alvi, CEC Sikandar Sultan Raja, Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan, and other ECP members a vital agreement resulted. There was a high level of precision in the conduct of the meeting while following democratic principles in ensuring that all the stakeholders’ views were catered-for.

Supreme Court’s Involvement and ECP’s Deliberation with President

This particular decision-making process was emphasized in the instructions issued by the Supreme Court to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) that directed it to consult and agree on a date for the upcoming general elections with the President of Islamic Republic of Pakistan Dr. Arif Alvi.

The lawyer for the ECP repeated that the commission was prepared to organize smooth and efficient elections in accordance with the constitutional guidelines and time frame prescribed in the Constitution of Pakistan. In this regard, some politicians anticipated the forthcoming elections with hope as they emphasized the need to build up a proper political environment that provides equal electoral chances regardless of who is participating in the political process.

Newcomer IPP’s Expectations from the ECP

The emergence of a new political party – Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party (IPP) indicated hope for the Pakistani Election Commission (ECP). In this regard, Dr. Firdous Ashiq Awan, head of the party, reaffirmed the party’s commitment to the respect and observance of ECP’s constitutional duties by emphasizing the importance of such action.

Dr. Awan stressed the significant importance of free, open, and honest election processes in Pakistan, where these aspects determine whether or not democracy flourishes and exists healthily.

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