ISLAMABAD: The MQM, which is part of the ruling PDM alliance, has tasked its legal minds to advise whether the next general elections can be held on the basis of the past census while the fresh census is being conducted. The process is almost complete.
When contacted, Federal Minister and MQM leader Syed Faisal Ali Sabzwari told JEE News that Muttahida has always had a stand that elections should be conducted on the basis of the latest accurate population count.
He said that the MQM has contacted its legal and constitutional experts to seek their advice from the party leadership whether the elections can be held on the basis of the 2017 census as the process of fresh census is almost complete. has been done.
If the government decides to hold elections based on the new census, it will result in a constitutional and legal requirement for delimitation of constituencies. The process of delimitation of constituencies is a months-long project that has been carried out by the Election Commission of Pakistan.
Interestingly, in the past, PMLN leaders were also heard talking about the next general elections based on the new census.
In January this year, PMLN leader and Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal asserted that general elections in Pakistan are possible only after the census and consequent delimitation of constituencies.
Iqbal was quoted as saying that “Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan himself had decided in the Council of Common Interests (CCI) meeting in April 2021 that new elections would be held only after the census process.” There will be.” says the media.
Speaking to the media after inaugurating the Science and Technology Park at Mehran University of Engineering and Technology (MUET) in Jamshoro district in January this year, Iqbal said that the results of the census will be published by April 30, after which The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will begin the delimitation exercise which will take four months to complete.
Contrary to Ahsan Iqbal’s expectation, the result of the census has not yet been published, due to which questions are being raised about the accuracy of the head count.
Now PMLN and PPP are talking about holding general elections in October or November this year.
The prime minister has also said that the government will complete its term next month and the country will go for general elections in October or November.
Concerns and analyzes are being discussed in politics and the media about the possibility of delaying the next general elections. If the new census is finalized or close to completion, it will delay the general elections.
A recent new report by JEE News journalist Mumtaz Alvi states that the country’s first digital census was launched in March this year. However, there is uncertainty about the official date of its publication, pending the completion of formalities.
The report quoted a senior official of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) as saying that they saw no possibility of holding the elections on time, i.e. in the first week of October and before the 12th of the month. , if these elections were to be held. Conducted on the basis of delimitation of constituencies as per digital census.
According to the report, a period of four months is required for the delimitation exercise and even if this time is compressed to at least three months, the chances of holding elections based on the new delimitation are very slim.
According to Article 51(3) of the Constitution, seats in the National Assembly are allocated to each province and federal territory on the basis of population as per the last officially published census. “Therefore, in the given circumstances and as things stand, the commission will be left with no other option but to hold the next general elections on the basis of final delimitation,” the report said.
