The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has announced that the provincial elections for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly will be held on October 8. The ECP’s decision comes after KP Governor Ghulam Ali proposed the same date for elections in his province. The election program will be released later, according to a notification obtained by Dawn.com. The decision to set the date for KP elections on the same day as Punjab elections has been challenged in the Supreme Court.
The court had previously ruled that elections in KP and Punjab must be held within 90 days of the dissolution of provincial assemblies in January or on a date that deviates minimally from the constitutional deadline. The governor had cited several militant attacks and stated his desire for free, fair, and peaceful polls in the province, while also claiming that residents of tribal districts were protesting against the conduct of general elections before the announcement of new census results. In January, the Punjab and KP assemblies were dissolved, and elections are required to be held within 90 days of dissolution.
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The ECP has previously cited police shortages and terrorism threats as reasons for the postponement of elections.
