President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday signed a summary giving approval to holding general elections on May 11.
According to president’s spokesman Farhatullah Bababr, the summary was sent by Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf.
The prime minister had advised the president to announce a suitable date for holding general elections to the National Assembly in terms of Article 48 (1) of the constitution read with the relevant statutory provisions.
The spokesperson said section 11 (1) of the Representation of the People Act 1976 says “As soon as may be necessary and practicable‚ the president makes an announcement of the date or dates on which the polls shall be taken‚ the Election Commission‚ not later than thirty days of such announcement shall‚ by notification in the official gazette‚ call upon a constituency to elect a representative or representatives”.
This election will mark an end to the PPP-led government and the only democratic government to finish its term.
On March 17, the National Assembly stood dissolved on completion of its five-year term under Article 52 of the constitution.
The Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan assemblies have been dissolved, and the Punjab Assembly is likely to follow soon.
On Tuesday, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) allotted election symbols to 144 political parties, whereas it deferred the application of Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarian (PPPP), which is demanding its old emblem ‘arrow’.
The decision on ‘arrow’ symbol will be taken by March 25.
According to statistics available at the Election Commission’s website, 23.58 percent of the total 87.5 million voters were of ages between 31 and 40 years, while the second largest group of voters was between the ages of 18 and 25.
In the upcoming elections, a political party must secure 172 seats (51 percent of total seats) in the National Assembly of Pakistan to obtain a majority or else the elections will lead to a hung parliament.
If a political party with the most votes is either unable or unwilling to form a coalition government within a certain time-frame, a runoff election will be carried out.