In the present crisis in Pakistan, a demand has been raised, mainly by the ruling PDM leaders and its members, that elections to the National and Provincial Assemblies be held together. The Pakistan Senate has also passed a resolution to this effect. Is this demand valid ? I submit it is not.
There is no provision in Pakistan’s Constitution that the National and Provincial Assembly elections must be held together.Apart from that, there is another problem in holding both elections together.
Article 52 of Pakistan’s Constitution states :” The National Assembly shall, unless sooner dissolved, continue for a term of five years from the day of its first meeting and shall stand dissolved at the expiration of its term ”.
Similarly Article 107 states :
” The Provincial Assembly shall, unless sooner dissolved, continue for a term of five years from the day of its first meeting and shall stand dissolved at the expiration of its term ”.Now suppose a Provincial Assembly, for some reason, is dissolved prematurely one year after its first meeting, but the National Assembly is not dissolved, and has yet to complete another 4 years. Will there be no Provincial Assembly for 4 years ?
Article 224(2) of Pakistan’s Constitution states :
” When the National Assembly or a Provincial Assembly is dissolved, a general election to the Assembly shall be held within a period of ninety days after the dissolution, and the results of the election shall be declared not later than fourteen days after the conclusion of the polls ”.
This provision is very clear, and it makes it obvious that both National and Provincial Assembly elections cannot be held together, where either the National or the Provincial Assembly was dissolved prematurely.
The Punjab Provincial Assembly was dissolved prematurely on 14th January 2023, and hence in view of Article 224(2) elections to it had to be held by 14th April, and they could not be validly postponed to the time when the National Assembly completes its term in August, and elections are to be held for it in October.
I submit that for meeting the demand for holding elections simultaneously, the Constitution has to be amended, and until that is done, the demand is not tenable.
