Pakistan: Top Court Orders Elections in Two Provinces

Facts

• Pakistan's Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that assembly elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces must be held within the next 90 days.¹
• Former Prime Minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party dissolved the two provincial assemblies in January to force early general elections.²
• On Feb. 21, Pres. Arif Alvi — who is from the PTI — announced April 9 as the election date in the two provinces. According to Pakistan's constitution, elections must be held within 90 days after a provincial assembly is dissolved.³
• The three-to-two Supreme Court verdict ruled that Alvi's orders to hold elections on April 9 will be binding on the Punjab assembly, but the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa date will be set by its governor. The latter assembly was dissolved by the governor, but the former was not.⁴
• If it might not be possible for the province to meet the 90-day deadline, then the Election Commission is ordered to propose a date for the holding of the elections that 'deviates to the barest minimum' from the deadline.⁵
• Though national and provincial elections are typically held together, the general election in Pakistan is set after the court-ordered provincial polls.⁶

Sources: ¹Nikkei Asia, ²Al Jazeera, ³Indian Express, ⁴The Financial Express, ⁵DAWN and ⁶The Express Tribune.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by DAWN. Pakistan's Constitution clearly states that elections must be held within 90 days of an assembly's dissolution, which is why Wednesday's ruling is a win for both the Constitution and the people. Prime Minister Sharif can continue to try and corrupt the electoral system, but his nefarious tactics are no match for the popularity of Imran Khan and his party.
• Narrative B, as provided by The News. As Pakistan faces dire security and economic situations, Imran Khan should not be allowed to destabilize the government. The country needs unification right now, and holding provincial elections separately from the general will only cause division. However, as elections are arriving sooner rather than later, the ruling Pakistan Muslim League party must show its strength by garnering support from all sides of the fragmented population.