ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday announced the schedule of new constituencies as per the new census approved by the Council of Common Interests (CCI) earlier this month.
According to the schedule, the notification of new delimitation of constituencies across the country will be done in December this year.
The ECP schedule shows that the new constituencies will take about four months, meaning that general elections in the country cannot be held within 90 days of the dissolution of the provincial and national assemblies.
Notification of Delimitation issued by Election Commission today on 17th August, 2023…@ECP_Pakistan pic.twitter.com/ahKFaZxSxM
— Spokesperson ECP (@SpokespersonECP) August 17, 2023
The ECP said that from September 8 to October 7, constituencies will be demarcated across the country.
It said that proposals related to constituencies will be submitted from October 10 to November 8.
The electoral body said that the quota of the constituencies of the national and provincial assemblies will be allocated from September 5 to September 7.
It further said that the administrative matters related to the constituencies will be completed by August 31, while the constituencies committees of the four provinces including Islamabad will be established by August 21.
The election body said it would decide on objections to delimitation from November 10 to December 9, adding that the final publication of the digital census has been completed.
According to the Election Act, the ECP is bound to draw new boundaries for hundreds of provincial and national assembly constituencies across the country, the statement added.
Earlier this month. The CCI meeting presided over by then Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif approved the final results of the 7th Population and Housing Census of 2023 which put the country’s population at 241.49 million with a growth rate of 2.55%.
The CCI’s approval made it constitutionally mandatory for the Election Commission to draw fresh delimitations in light of the seventh census results.
According to Article 51 (5) of the Constitution, the National Assembly seats for each province and federal capital shall be allocated on the basis of population as per the last officially published census.
The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)-led government prematurely dissolved the national and provincial assemblies of Sindh and Balochistan to allow the ECP to hold elections in the country within 90 days instead of 60 days if the legislature completes its constitutional term. It completes.
Former federal ministers including Rana Sanaullah said that due to constituencies, elections in the country may be delayed till March next year.
SC moved against CCI decision
The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) on Wednesday filed a petition in the Supreme Court directing the ECP to announce the date of elections to the National and Provincial Assemblies as per Article 224(2) of the Constitution. It was demanded to give.
In its petition, the lawyers’ apex body requested the Supreme Court to suspend the CCI’s August 5 decision.
Questioning the decision taken in the August 5 meeting of CCI and SCBA, he said that the caretaker chief ministers were not eligible to sit in the meeting.
A meeting of Respondent No. 2 [CCI] was held on 05.08.2023 in the presence of the Prime Minister, Chief Ministers of Sindh and Balochistan, caretaker Chief Ministers of Respondents No. 3 (Punjab) and 4. [KP] and other federal ministers,” read the petition.
