{"id":48419,"date":"2024-01-16T03:29:05","date_gmt":"2024-01-16T03:29:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/polls-cannot-be-put-off-at-this-stage-says-ecp\/"},"modified":"2024-01-16T03:29:05","modified_gmt":"2024-01-16T03:29:05","slug":"polls-cannot-be-put-off-at-this-stage-says-ecp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/polls-cannot-be-put-off-at-this-stage-says-ecp\/","title":{"rendered":"Polls cannot be put off \u2018at this stage\u2019, says ECP"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div dir=\"auto\">\n<p><strong>\u2022 Senator Dilawar insists resolution for election delay \u2018aptly reflects collective aspirations\u2019 of upper house<br \/>\u2022 Watchdog says directives for \u2018effective security\u2019 issued, winter elections also held in past<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>ISLAMABAD: As resolutions seeking a delay in the polls continue to land in the Senate, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has made it clear that general elections scheduled for February 8 cannot be put off \u201cat this stage\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>In response to a letter received from the Senate Secretariat along with a copy of a resolution seeking a delay in the elections passed by the house without a quorum, the ECP said that the resolution was discussed during a meeting of the commission.<\/p>\n<p>According to the ECP, the election date was decided in consultation with President Dr Arif Alvi. It said that in order to maintain law and order, the commission had issued directives to the caretaker federal and provincial governments for beefing up security and providing a congenial environment.<\/p>\n<p>The commission said that it had made all the nec\u00adessary arrangements regarding the conduct of general elections, adding that it had also submitted a commitment to the Supreme Court in this regard.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"media  sm:w-1\/2  w-full  media--right  media--embed  media--uneven\">\n<p>    <iframe class=\"nk-iframe\" onload=\"setInterval(()=&gt;{try{this.style.height=this.contentWindow.document.body.scrollHeight+'px';}catch{}}, 100)\" width=\"100%\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" style=\"height:400px;position:relative\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/card\/1805979\" sandbox=\"allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-popups allow-modals allow-forms\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>\u201cLikewise, it would not be out of place to mention here that in the past general elections and local government elections have been held in the winter season,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n<p>The ECP\u2019s letter concluded that it would not be \u201cadvisable\u201d for the commission to postpone general elections \u201cat this stage\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Caretaker Information Minister Murtaza Solangi in a post on X (formerly Twitter) said: \u201cThe ECP is committed to holding polls on Thursday, Feb 8 and so are the [caretaker] federal and provincial governments\u201d. He also attached a copy of the ECP\u2019s letter to the Senate Secretariat.<\/p>\n<p>On January 5, a thinly-attended session of the upper house of parliament <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1803604\/lone-wolf-senate-move-to-delay-polls-raises-hackles\">adopted a resolution<\/a>, seeking the postponement of the general elections over security and inclement weather concerns, when only 14 members were present in the upper house.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"media  sm:w-1\/2  w-full  media--right  media--embed  media--uneven\">\n<p>    <iframe class=\"nk-iframe\" onload=\"setInterval(()=&gt;{try{this.style.height=this.contentWindow.document.body.scrollHeight+'px';}catch{}}, 100)\" width=\"100%\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" style=\"height:400px;position:relative\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/card\/1805779\" sandbox=\"allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-popups allow-modals allow-forms\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Eleven members voted for the resolution after Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani not only allowed independent Senator Dilawar Khan to move it even though it was not on the agenda.<\/p>\n<p>A copy of the resolution was sent to the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and the Election Commission of Pakistan by Mr Sanj\u00adrani, shortly after he abr\u00aduptly prorogued the house.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dilawar double downs<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>On the other hand, the mover of the resolution, Dilawar Khan, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1805979\/senator-dilawar-pens-letter-to-sanjrani-over-lack-of-action-on-resolution-seeking-poll-delay\">wrote a letter<\/a> to Chairman Sanjrani on Monday, saying it was \u201cdisconcerting\u201d that no \u201ctangible steps\u201d had been taken by the ECP to postpone the elections.<\/p>\n<p>According to Dilawar Khan, the resolution passed by the Senate on January 5 \u201captly reflected the collective aspirations of the house\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHowever, despite the Senate\u2019s explicit urging and the subsequent dispa\u00adtch of a copy of the resolution to the ECP, it is disconcerting that no tangible steps have been taken by the ECP to postpone the general elections scheduled for February 8,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Senator Dilawar said that as the mover of the resolution, he \u201cfirmly believed\u201d that the concerns articulated in the motion must be promptly addressed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe essence of holding free and fair elections appears compromised without a resolution to the issues raised. In light of this, I humbly request your intervention as the custodian of the house,\u201d he said in the letter.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is imperative that we ascertain the progress made and ensure the postponement of the general elections scheduled for February 8, thereby facilitating the effective participation of people from all areas of Pakistan and across the entire political spectrum in the electioneering process,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYour swift attention to this matter is highly appreciated, and I eagerly anticipate an update on the steps taken in this regard,\u201d he concluded in the letter to Mr Sanjrani.<\/p>\n<p>Last week, senators belonging to the PTI, PPP and Jamaat-i-Islami also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1805110\">requisitioned<\/a> a session to discuss the timely conduct of free and fair polls.<\/p>\n<p>Two more resolutions seeking to delay the polls have also been submitted to the Senate secretariat over the past few days. The resolutions were submitted by independent senators Hidayatullah and Hilalur Rahman.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Polls at all costs<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, former lawmaker and National Democratic Move\u00adment (NDM) chief Mohsin Dawar said elections should be held in any situation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is the responsibility of the state to ensure the security of every candidate and political worker,\u201d said Mr Dawar.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut delaying elections by saying that the security situation isn\u2019t good [\u2026] who will give the guarantee that the security situation would be fine after a month?\u201d he questioned while appearing on a podcast.<\/p>\n<p>To a question regarding election campaigns in such circumstances, he said campaigning would continue and a new strategy would be adopted for the same. \u201cThe protection of our workers is our priority,\u201d he stressed.<\/p>\n<p>It may be recalled that Dawar recently encountered and survived an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1803013\/mohsin-dawar-survives-gun-attack-on-his-convoy\">armed attack<\/a> on his convoy in the Tapi area of North Waziristan\u2019s Miramshah tehsil. The attack on his convoy occurred during an election rally.<\/p>\n<p><em>Published in Dawn, January 16th, 2024<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u2022 Senator Dilawar insists resolution for election delay \u2018aptly reflects collective aspirations\u2019 of upper house\u2022 Watchdog says directives for \u2018effective security\u2019 issued, winter elections also held in past ISLAMABAD: As resolutions seeking a delay in the polls continue to land in the Senate, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has made it clear that general [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":48420,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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