Ex-foreign minister\u2019s statement comes after Zardari said ECP obligated to conduct delimitation before polls.
\nIslamabad
\nThe PPP\u2019s top leadership took differing positions on general elections on Saturday, with former president Asif Ali Zardari emphasising that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) was bound to conduct fresh delimitation of constituencies and party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari asserting that polls should be held within 90 days of the dissolution of the National Assembly.
\nZardari\u2019s statement deviates from the PPP\u2019s stance on the elections\u2019 timeframe. The PPP is the only party from the Pakistan Democratic Movement-led erstwhile ruling coalition that has been assertive in calling for not pushing the elections beyond the constitutionally mandated cutoff date of November 9.
\nConcerns on the poll timing have arisen from the ECP ruling out elections this year. It reasons its decision to push elections beyond November 9 on the basis of the notification of results of the new digital 2023 census and Section 17(2) of the Elections Act, which states: \u201cThe commission shall delimit constituencies after every census is officially published.\u201d
\nZardari also stressed the need for delimitation today, saying that the ECP was obligated to conduct the delimitation of constituencies but at the same time called for abiding by the Constitution.
\nIn a statement, the former president said: \u201cThe election commission will conduct elections according to the Constitution.\u201d
\nHe added that the ECP was obligated to undertake fresh delimitations following the census. \u201cWe have complete confidence in the chief election commissioner and the [ECP\u2019s] members,\u201d Zardari said.
\nZardari also highlighted the urgency for the caretaker government to swiftly execute Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) projects in order to set the nation on a trajectory of development.
\nAbout the prevailing economic crisis, he called on political parties to prioritise the economy over politics. \u201cWe all exist as long as the country exists.\u201d
\nBilawal reiterates 90-day limit
\nLater, Bilawal was asked about Zardari\u2019s statement, to which he said he was \u201cbound to [former] president Zardari\u2019s directives in family matters\u201d but \u201cas far as political and Constitutional matters and the party policy were concerned\u201d, he was bound to the \u201cparty workers\u2019 and the central executive committee\u2019s (CEC\u2019s) decisions\u201d.
\nSpeaking to reporters in Badin, he recalled that during the CEC meeting last month, it had been emphasised that the polls should be held within the 90-day period, in line with the Constitution.
\nStating that the party\u2019s CEC meeting was chaired by him and Zardari, the former foreign minister said, \u201cIn the PPP CEC meeting, we deliberated upon these two opinions \u2014 on the one hand, the matter of 90 days that is written in the Constitution (or prioritising fresh delimitation).
\n\u201cIn that meeting, all PPP legal experts told us that according to the Constitution, the elections should be held within 90 days [of the NA\u2019s dissolution].\u201d
\nHe also announced that he would be heading to Lahore, where another meeting of the party\u2019s CEC would be held and anyone having a different view opinion could voice their opinion there.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ex-foreign minister\u2019s statement comes after Zardari said ECP obligated to conduct delimitation before polls. Islamabad The PPP\u2019s top leadership took differing positions on general elections on Saturday, with former president Asif Ali Zardari emphasising that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) was bound to conduct fresh delimitation of constituencies and party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari asserting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":354902,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-354884","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n