ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has said that it will work on the delimitation of constituencies and updating the voter list simultaneously to complete the electoral work in the shortest possible time for the upcoming general elections. Can be done as soon as possible. JEE News reported Saturday.
The election body’s decision came during a meeting with a six-member delegation of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) to discuss the election roadmap.
The move was part of the ECP’s decision, which was taken on August 23 to consult all major political parties in the country to address concerns about delaying the upcoming general elections.
On August 17, the Election Commission announced the schedule for the delimitation process as per the new census approved by the Council of Common Interests (CCI) earlier this month.
The ECP schedule shows that the new constituencies will take about four months, which translates into not holding general elections within 90 days of the dissolution of the provincial and national assemblies – a violation of the constitution.
A six-member delegation of Muslim League (N) which included Ahsan Iqbal, Rana Sanaullah, Zahid Hamid, Azam Nazir Tarar, Attaullah Tarar and Asad Junejo called the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) for consultation on the election roadmap. Sikandar Sultan met Raja and other officials.
During the meeting, PML-N expressed satisfaction that the CCI had unanimously approved the results of the census and its publication, as all political parties had agreed that 2023 Elections will be held on the new census.
The PML-N noted that the delimitation schedule issued by the ECP is in accordance with the constitution and law.
At the same time, he suggested that along with constituencies, the process of renewal of electoral rolls should be done so that this process can be completed in one step and there is no delay in holding general elections.
Furthermore, the PML-N team suggested that the media campaign should be run by the party rather than the candidate. The delegation emphasized that ECP officers, District Returning Officers and Returning Officers should perform their duties impartially.
The Muslim League (N) also wanted a ban on hate speech and effective checks on election expenditure.
On this occasion, CEC Raja gave definite assurance to the electoral body regarding constituencies and electoral lists. He said that the ECP will consult all the political parties on the code of conduct as per the law and after that it will be finalized.
The ECP assured visitors that the elections would be transparent and fair and all parties would get a level playing field.
Raja further said that strict legal action will be taken against those violating the code of conduct for which the monitoring wing has been strengthened. ECP and PML-N also agreed to keep election expenses under control.
After the meeting, PML-N senior leader Ahsan Iqbal while talking to the media said that suggestions were given to keep election expenses under control, ECP agreed to his suggestion.
He said that suggestions were given to the commission for transparency in various election stages and ECP assured that he will fulfill his responsibilities as per the constitution and law for the early conduct of elections.
The former planning minister added that delimitation after the approval of census by the CCI was a constitutional and statutory requirement for which the commission was constitutionally bound to ensure ‘one vote for one person’.
He explained that his party made proposals for the early completion of the delimitations for conducting the early election process.
Iqbal further said that the commission should make the code of conduct effective to reduce election expenses. The PML-N leader also said he drew the commission’s attention to transparency in elections, unlike the 2018 elections when RTS was ‘misused’.
He added that the commission assured him that an automated system was being worked out to monitor the elections as well as ensure transparency and redressal of grievances.
Invoking Iqbal, Tarar said that the ECP should complete the delimitation process 15 to 20 days before announcing the election schedule. Along with this, a new voter list can also be compiled and the election schedule can be issued after completing the delimitation of constituencies by November as per the constitution and law.
He said that ECP responded positively to the proposals of Muslim League-N.
In response to a question, the former law minister said that the American ambassador’s meeting with the Election Commission officials was a separate matter. He said that elections are an internal matter of Pakistan.
