KP Election Date.

The date for general elections in KP has still not been announced-despite clear guidelines to do so from the Supreme Court-which is only furthering the political and governance crisis in the country. While the ECP announced the schedule for elections in Punjab to be held on April 30, the election watchdog's meeting with KP Governor Ghulam Ali to develop a consensus on the date of the poll remained an exercise in futility. It is unclear as to what is adding to the delay, and why the KP governor needs more time even though his responsibility is only limited to announcing the date without concerning himself with other matters.

According to reports, the ECP visited Peshawar following a letter from the governor. However, during the meeting the governor informed the participants that a final decision would be taken during his visit to the ECP office, which is probably expected to happen next week. The ECP however does not seem too pleased with this delay, and rightly so, as it made clear in a statement following the meeting that they had come to Peshawar with the sole intention of deciding on a date.

This is an issue that has exacerbated an already long-standing political crisis in the country...