ISLAMABAD – The upper house of Pakistan’s Parliament has approved a non-binding resolution calling for a postponement of the February 8 general elections.
Just 14 of the 97 senators present in the upper chamber of the nation’s parliament on Friday backed the proposal, with one senator voting against it.
Dilawar Khan, an independent lawmaker, proposed a motion to reschedule the election date, citing the nation’s “prevailing security conditions” and the cold weather.
In his resolution, Khan cited an increase in security events, mostly in the regions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, and said that Pakistan’s interior ministry had “conveyed serious threats to [the] lives of prominent politicians.”
He went on to say that the harsh winter makes it harder for political parties to run their campaigns, which may have an impact on polling place participation.
“To enable the effective participation of people from all regions of Pakistan and belonging to all political shades in the electioneering process, the elections scheduled for February 8, 2024, may be postponed,” the resolution stated.
In Pakistan’s 75-year history, there have been 11 prior general elections; three of them (1985, 1997, and 2008) have occurred in February.
Following the dissolution of the lower house of parliament in August of last year, Pakistan was set to hold national elections in November.