Caretaker govt has nothing to do with election date: Solangi

ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Minister for Information and Broadcasting Murtaza Solangi has said that the caretaker government had nothing to do with the election date, which is a mandate of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) under the new amendments in the Election Act.

The minister said the government was committed to assist the ECP in holding the election in line with its schedule, the official news agency reported.

It is the legal and constitutional responsibility of the caretaker government to assist the ECP in holding the election, he added.

He said the ECP had issued its schedule for the delimitations of the constituencies following the approval of a fresh census by the Council of Common Interest which was subsequently notified during the previous government’s tenure.

Solangi said it was imperative to give 54 days to all the political parties after delimitations for election campaigns in line with the Constitution.

He said according to Article 218 (3) of the Constitution, it was the responsibility of the ECP to hold free, fair and transparent elections.

To a query, he said the federal cabinet on Tuesday deliberated over the recommendations of the Energy Ministry on the issue related to inflated electricity bills.

Some proposals were discussed during the meeting, he said, adding it was imperative to take the International Monetary Fund on board in this regard.

He said Minister for Finance Shamshad Akhtar was in contact with the IMF and soon the government would be in a position to announce its decisions over the issue related to the bills.

The minister said the decisions would be made after reviewing primary surplus and circular debt data.