Holding election and referendum together will increase costs: Finance Adviser

Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed has said that holding the election and the referendum on the same day will increase expenses. However, he stated that there will be no problem with the budget.

He made the remarks on Monday while speaking to journalists after the meeting of the Procurement-Related Advisory Council Committee at the Secretariat.

The adviser said that although holding the election and the referendum together will raise costs, there is no reason to worry. The budget already allocated for the election will increase due to the referendum and the arrangements to enable expatriates to vote.

He also commented that holding the election and the referendum on two separate days would be very difficult. He added that holding both on the same day is better, as many countries around the world follow such practice.

The adviser further said that the Ministry of Energy will import refined oil, and approval for this has been granted today. The price of rice had been stable but has recently increased slightly. For this reason, non-Basmati rice will be imported. Generally, no less than 40,000 to 50,000 tonnes are imported at a time. Businesspeople in the country need to be more responsible. In other countries, prices do not increase in this manner. Such issues cannot be solved through administration alone—political leadership is needed.