Khursheed Shah urges parliament to remove loopholes in election laws

— Discusses name for the slot of caretaker prime minister with Pervaiz Elahi

ISLAMABAD: Leader of Opposition in National Assembly Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah on Thursday urged the parliament to remove loopholes in the election laws to ensure timely general elections in the country.

In a statement, elaborating the loopholes, he said the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had announced to issue final notification of the delimitation of new constituencies on May 4, whereas, as per the sections 22 of election laws, 120 days were required for holding the elections after the completion of delimitation process.

But on the other hand, Shah said, it was necessary to conduct the general elections within 60 days after the completion of tenure of the incumbent government.

“If the tenure of the present government is completed on June 1, then the elections should be conducted on August 1 which is impossible in the presence of section 22,” he said.

Separately, Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani and senior Leader of Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi called on the leader of opposition in his chamber.

Leader of Opposition in Senate, Sherry Rehman, Senator Farooq H Naek and Tariq Bashir Cheema were also present during the meeting.

Khursheed Shah and Pervaiz Elahi discussed the name for the slot of the caretaker prime minister. Pervaiz Elahi said that suitable and reputed individuals should be appointed as the caretaker prime minister.

Shah hoped that the name of the caretaker prime minister would be final by May 15.