PTI urges the ECP to fulfill its constitutional responsibility and ensure that elections are conducted within the constitutionally stipulated 90-day timeframe.
In Islamabad, PTI Spokesman Raoof Hasan issued a statement on Saturday, urging the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to abandon the practice of hiding behind technicalities and announce a specific date for the upcoming general election.
He called on the ECP to fulfill its constitutional role by ensuring that the elections are conducted within the constitutionally mandated timeframe of 90 days. Hasan criticized the commission for what he referred to as its delaying tactics in announcing the election date. He alleged that the ECP, through its officials, was using technical reasons as excuses to avoid specifying the election date. Hasan emphasized that Pakistan’s system was built on democratic principles, and therefore, the ECP should focus on its constitutional duty to conduct fair and transparent elections within the constitutionally defined framework.
He expressed concern that the ECP seemed unwilling to uphold the constitutional right to vote for the 240 million citizens after the dissolution of the National Assembly on August 9. Hasan accused the electoral body of displaying criminal negligence towards the president’s efforts to ensure polls within the constitutionally defined timeframe.
The PTI spokesman highlighted that the entire nation was anxious about the electoral watchdog’s actions, which appeared to deprive the nation of their voting rights through technical maneuvers and misinterpretation of the Constitution.
In a separate statement, he clarified that the primary responsibility of the caretaker government was to conduct free, fair, and transparent elections within the constitutionally defined 90-day period, rather than focusing on privatizing State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) in such a short timeframe.
Regarding the interim government’s privatization plan, the PTI spokesman expressed concerns that the caretaker setup aimed to address SOEs’ losses by selling these entities, raising questions about the interim government’s intentions and tenure. However, he stressed that the best course of action for the interim government was to expedite the election process and ensure elections were held within 90 days. This would allow the elected government, with a mandate, to address SOEs’ issues.
The PTI spokesperson reiterated the party’s belief that the government should not be involved in running businesses. Therefore, PTI supported an orderly and transparent exit through the strategic sale of company shares by the privatization commission, but with an elected government in place.
He further stated that given the interim government’s short tenure and its primary mandate of conducting free and fair elections, its focus should be on improving SOEs’ efficiency and reducing losses.
“Focusing on privatization and attempting to expedite it in such a short tenure raises suspicions about the interim government’s intentions, exposes the government to allegations of impropriety, and makes privatization activities subject to legal challenges, further complicating a sensitive process,” he concluded.1
Comments
Post a Comment