- President consults his adviser about ministry’s letter about CEC’s reply.
- Alvi sought law ministry’s advice after CEC’s response on polls’ date.
- Ministry said ECP has authority to give date for elections.
ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi has begun consultation with legal experts about the reply received from the Ministry of Law and Justice pertaining to the Chief Election Commissioner Syed Sikandar Sultan Raja’s response to him regarding election date.
The president, sources told The News, has held consultations with his adviser during a one-to-one meeting.
According to the sources, the presidency’s response to the law and justice ministry’s legal opinion is expected in a day or two. The President House’s sources also mentioned that Dr Alvi’s consultation with his adviser is a routine matter.
These consultations, the sources said, are mostly on cases referred to the ombudsman, and are also held in the one-on-one meeting; therefore, it cannot be said whether it is regarding the appeals against decisions of the federal ombudsman or any other subject.
The law and justice ministry had replied to the President House about the letter to its secretary, seeking an opinion on the date of general elections. The ministry, in its response, mentioned that the electoral watchdog has the authority to give the polls’ date.
The President House, last Thursday, sought the ministry’s legal opinion about the reply received from CEC Raja in which he maintained that only the ECP has the authority to give the date of the election.
It should be noted that President Alvi had written a letter to the CEC last week, inviting him for a meeting to fix the date for general elections in the country.
In his letter to CEC Raja, Dr Alvi also mentioned Clause 5 of Article 48 for ready reference in his letter, which read as, “(5) where the President dissolves the National Assembly (notwithstanding anything contained in clause (1), he shall,-
(a) Appoint a date not letter than ninety days from the date of the dissolution for the holding of a general election to the Assembly; and (b) Appoint a caretaker cabinet in accordance with the provisions of Article 224 or, as the case may be, Article 224A”.
The CEC, in his reply, said that fixing the election date is the prerogative of the Election Commission of Pakistan.
