ISLAMABAD: The government is all set to convene a Council of Common Interests (CCI) meeting to deliberate on the results of the census before the end of its tenure next month.
There is an opportunity for the government to present the results of the digital population census before the body takes a final decision.
After the results are presented, there are three possibilities.
- In the context of serious deficiencies pointed out by stakeholders during the CCI meeting, the results may be overturned, or they may be approved.
- Delimitation exercise may result in delayed elections.
- A committee may be formed to resolve lingering disputes and find a solution acceptable to all stakeholders.
However, each possibility has its consequences.
If there is any plan to delay the general elections at any level, then the digital census results can be sanctioned.
If the CCI approves the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)-led government even after its term is over, the elections may be delayed by four to five months.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) may say it will need a few months to start the delimitation exercise based on the CCI-approved census results.
Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) has completed the post-enumeration survey (PES) to verify the first results of digital population census in selected blocks of 48 districts.
PBS selected 2,500 blocks in the country to retest the count to validate the exercise. Some of the results of the recent census were quite unique and interesting in the areas of Balochistan where there is a large population of Baloch citizens.
There are complaints of overcounting in rural areas of Sindh. Complaints of low population count were high in the urban areas of the province, especially in Karachi.
The census deadlines were extended, and finally the PES was conducted. But its results were not known, which created the possibility of controversy.
“Now, the PBS has been entrusted with the responsibility of preparing the census results till July 31, 2023, and then it can be submitted to the CCI in the first week of August,” official sources said on Tuesday. Confirmed while talking to JEE News.
The Census Monitoring Committee (CMC) had directed to conduct PES from July 8, 2023. It was decided to hold PES in the remaining three districts of Kohistan and snow covered areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan. July 8.
PES completed in 15 days. The work plan, methodology and sample design of the survey using stratified sampling technique were also approved by the Census Monitoring Committee.
At PES, NADRA provided technical support for software for testing purpose.
