President Dr Arif Alvi on Wednesday proposed that the election in the country should be held on November 6. However, in what appears to be a balancing act, he also conceded that the authority to make the announcement probably did not lie with him and suggested that stakeholders should seek guidance from the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

The advice comes days before Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial is due to retire. Justice Qazi Faez Isa will be taking over next week after CJP Bandial hangs it up on Saturday, September 16.

The PTI has been calling on President Alvi to announce an election date as the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and the caretaker government insisted that he had no mandate to do so. Analysts on private-run TV channels have said recently that any decision by the president to announce an election date would stoke uncertainty and hurt the economy.

President Arif Alvi sent a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner Sikandr Sultan Raja on Wednesday, proposing November 6 as the day when the general election in the country should be held.

“Article 48(5) of the Constitution empowers and mandates the President to appoint a date not later than ninety days from the date of the dissolution, for the holding of a general election to the Assembly,” the president said adding that under Article 48(5) “the general election to the National Assembly should be held by the eighty-ninth day of the date of dissolution of the National Assembly, i.e. Monday 6th Day of November 2023.”

The president then noted that the chief election commissioner and the four provincial governments held a different viewpoint and believed that the president did not have the authority to announce an election date.

He also said that there was a “concensus” to hold general elections to the National Assembly and provincial assemblies on the same date “to strengthen the federation and to promote harmony and unity amongst provinces and to avoid incurring of unnecessary expenses.”

President Alvi advised the ECP to seek guidance from the Supreme Court after consulting stakeholders.

“Therfore, taking into annount all the above, the Election Commission of Pakistan in consultation with the provincial governments and political parties under the relevant provisions of the Constitutuion and in view that some of these matters are already subjudice, may seek guidance from the superior judiciary for announcement of a single date for general election to the National and provincial assemblies.”

Who has the authority to announce the election date

The letter provides an overview of the debate on who has the authority to announce an election date.

On August 23, President Alvi invited Sikandar Sultan Raja for a meeting to fix a date for holding the general election, but the chief election commissioner turned down the invitation.

Alvi recalled the episode in his letter saying, the ECP chief was invited for a meeting regarding the date of the election, but Raja “took a contrary view that as per the scheme of the Constitution and framework of electoral laws, it was the domain of the Election Commission, and follwoing publication of last preceeding census on 07.08.2023 duly notified delimitation of constituencies was in progress, a mandatory requirement stipulated by Article 51(5) of the Constitution and section 17 of the Elections Act, 2017.”

Alvi also recalled that the federal ministry of law and justice was “also of similar view as the Election Commissision of Pakistan.”

“All four provincial government are of the view that announcemen of election date is mandate of the Election Commission of Pakistan,” the president said.

Without emphasizing that he had the right to announce an election date, the president said that the holding election was the responsibility of the ECP under Articles 51,218,218,220 and the Elections Act 2017.

He then offered his advice to seek guidance from the Supreme Court of Pakistan.