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The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday announced that polls in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa will be conducted on Oct. 8—the same date as it earlier announced for polls in Punjab, which is currently facing a challenge in the Supreme Court.
Citing advice given by Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Governor Haji Ghulam Ali, the ECP said it was notifying Oct. 8 as the date for general elections to the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly. “The Election Program for election under Section 57(2) of the Elections Act, 2017 will be issued in due course of time,” it added.
The KP governor had earlier proposed May 28 as the date for polls but had subsequently advised the ECP to set Oct. 8 as the poll date due to the prevailing security situation in the province.
While no challenges have been issued to the ECP’s latest decision yet, it is likely that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) would contest it as it has the change to the polling date for the Punjab Assembly. President Arif Alvi had, earlier this month, announced April 30 as the date for polls in Punjab after consultations with the ECP, but had subsequently changed it to Oct. 8, citing the prevailing financial crunch and the restive security situation.
The PTI has challenged this in court, maintaining that it constitutes contempt of court, as the apex court had directed the ECP to conduct elections within 90 days of the assemblies’ dissolution with the “barest minimum deviation” to account for the delay in announcing a date for polls.