ISLAMABAD: After several consultations with political parties, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday announced that the delimitation process will be finalized by November 30.
In a statement, the electoral body said the purpose of shortening the delimitation process was to ensure that the elections were held as soon as possible.
The ECP also said that the date of the polls would be announced keeping in mind the schedule of the delimitation process, adding that the date was announced after discussions with the parties.
A day earlier, the Election Commission had said that the polls would be held by mid-February at most or by the end of January if delimitation of constituencies is completed earlier.
Election Commission has consulted with political parties including Pakistan Muslim League (N), Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), Muttahida Qaumi Movement. Pakistan (MQM-P), Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Faiz (JUI-F) and other general election roadmaps.
In these meetings, JUI-F, PML-N and MQM-P supported the ECP to hold general elections after delimitation while PTI and PPP on the election watchdog. He stressed that he should end this process and hold elections within 90 days.
On August 17, the ECP announced the new delimitation schedule as per the new census approved by the Council of Common Interests (CCI) last month.
As per the schedule, the delimitation of constituencies was expected to be completed in December. However, now this date has been shortened to November.
Earlier, the ECP schedule showed that the new demarcation would take around four months.
Last month, the CCI meeting presided over by then Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif approved the final results of the seventh population and housing census of 2023, which showed the country’s population at 241.49 million with a growth rate of 2.55 percent. Told.
The CCI’s approval made it constitutionally mandatory for the ECP to hold elections after fresh delimitations in light of the results of the 7th census.
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 previous Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)-led government had 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 violated its constitutional mandate. Expires.
