ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Senate on Friday approved a non-binding resolution seeking a delay in the general election, citing cold weather and security concerns, increasing the political uncertainty ahead of the planned polls on February 8.
The resolution, tabled by independent Senator Dilawar Khan, received overwhelming support in the upper house of Pakistan’s Parliament but was slammed as “unconstitutional” by major political parties.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) also rejected the Senate’s resolution and clarified that elections will be held on February 8. It was passed with only 14 lawmakers out of the Senate’s 100 members in attendance. Information Minister Murtaza Solangi and Senator Afnanullah Khan of three-time PM Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party opposed the move.
Senator Gurdeep Singh of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and Pakistan Peoples Party’s Behramand Tangi abstained from voting. The Senate chairman adjourned the session indefinitely after the vote.