Pakistan’s coalition government and opposition have reached a consensus to hold general elections across the country on the same day, though they have yet to agree on the date. The decision comes after months of political turmoil over the timing of provincial and federal elections, with former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) seeking early polls, while the government insisted on holding elections in October.
The talks between the two sides took place on May 2, with Ishaq Dar, Khawaja Saad Rafique, Azam Nazeer Tarar, and Sardar Ayaz Sadiq from the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) joining Yousuf Raza Gilani and Syed Naveed Qamar from the Pakistan Peoples Party and other coalition parties. The PTI was represented by its Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhry, and Senator Ali Zafar.
While both sides have agreed to hold one-day elections in the country under caretaker setups, they have yet to reach an agreement on the dissolution of the National Assembly and Sindh and Balochistan assemblies, as well as the date for elections. The PTI has proposed dissolving the assemblies before or on May 14, before holding simultaneous polls across the country.
The issue of elections has rocked Pakistani politics since Mr. Khan demanded snap polls after being voted out of power in April last year. He dissolved the assemblies in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in January, hoping to put pressure on the government to hold elections within 90 days. However, the government delayed elections, citing a lack of funds and a rise in terrorism, while insisting on holding elections in October after the completion of the National Assembly’s term.
The issue landed in the Supreme Court, which ordered the government to hold elections in Punjab on May 14 and provide Rs 21 billion to the Election Commission of Pakistan. The government has not provided the funds and openly announced its defiance of the order. The talks between the government and opposition began when the apex court indicated its willingness to show flexibility on the election date if the parties agreed to hold elections across the country on the same day.