ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal said on Friday that elections on time are possible only if they are conducted on the basis of the 2017 census.
The minister’s remarks came when he was asked about the legal complications arising from the delay in the notification of the digital census that ends on May 15.
Provisional results of the census released by the government showed that the population had reached 250 million and under Article 51 of the Constitution, seats in the National Assembly were allocated on the basis of population as per the last officially published census. Must know.
Therefore, even if the results are notified by the Council of Common Interests (CCI), the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has no time left to carry out the delimitation process. is, which requires at least 4 months.
Secondly, the coalition government does not have the two-thirds majority required for a constitutional amendment to change the number of seats in the National Assembly.
Speaking to the anchor person, Ahsan Iqbal said that according to the schedule, the census results were to be announced by April 30.
However, the minister added that due to discrepancies identified during the counting process, the final date was extended several times at the request of the provinces.
“As the final census revealed abnormal increase in population in some areas, the Committee of Demographers recommended that the under-counted or over-counted areas be investigated with the help of SUPARCO as the results are to be submitted to the CCI. were, they had to be authentic.
Ahsan Iqbal said that even if the census is finalized immediately, it is impossible before July 30.
The federal minister – who had earlier ruled out elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, saying the CCI had decided to hold elections based on fresh census – said the delimitation process was pending after the fresh census and the EC P has to make the final decision. Election date.
“If elections are to be held, they will have to be held on the basis of the old census, it is not possible to issue the results of the census according to the new election schedule.”
The federal minister said that two-thirds majority is required for constitutional amendment, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has said that the government will hand over the reins to the caretaker setup after completing its term.
He also opposed delaying the elections, saying that if the uncertainty continues, the country may move towards a new economic crisis.
