ISLAMABAD: Due to sheer lack of interest from the treasury and opposition benches, the National Assembly on Friday deferred a constitutional amendment bill regarding fresh delimitation of constituencies, sparking fears that the next general elections might be delayed.
According to the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) schedule, the next elections could either take place towards the end of July or before Aug 5, 2018.
The bill seeking fresh delimitations was meant to be passed by a two-thirds majority, but an incomplete quorum on Friday reflected a lack of interest on the part of members from the two mainstream political parties — the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and the main opposition Pakistan Peoples Party.
Even Law Minister Zahid Hamid, who had moved the bill, was absent.
The deputy speaker asked the treasury benches to call on Mr Hamid to initiate debate on the bill. When he did not turn up, the deputy speaker asked Minister for States and Frontier Region retired Lt Gen Abdul Qadir Baloch to start a discussion on the bill, but with a wave of his hand, Mr Baloch dismissed the request, indicating that, he too, was not interested. Hence the bill was deferred.
On Tuesday, all parliamentary parties had agreed on fresh delimitation of constituencies and passed a bill to meet the constitutional obligation under the 2017 census. However, when the bill was introduced in the National Assembly, they seemed indifferent.
Many now believe that the next elections will be delayed and this will not benefit any political party. It is also unclear as to why the political parties, which were raising a hue and cry over the need for delimitation on Tuesday, appeared to have changed their position on Friday.