ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi on Thursday sought the legal opinion of the Ministry of Law and Justice on the letter of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). The President’s House sought an opinion on the position of the ECP that only the Election Commission has the authority to give the date for the elections in the country.

For this purpose, the president’s office has written a letter to the secretary of the Ministry of Law and Justice seeking legal opinion on the position of the ECP that only it had the authority to announce the election date.

The ECP, on Thursday, responded to President Alvi’s letter — in which, he had invited Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja — stating that the president was no longer empowered to fix the date for elections after amendments in election laws.

The development comes after CEC Raja turned down President Alvi’s invitation to set a date for elections. He said that announcing a date for general elections in the country rests exclusively with the ECP.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023