The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) announced on Friday that it wouldexpedite the delimitation of constituencies, with the final publication ofconstituencies now set for November 30, 2023. In a statement, the ECPstated, “To complete the consultation and feedback process with politicalparties and delimitation of constituencies as early as possible, the ECPhas further reduced the time frame for delimitations.” This adjustment aimsto facilitate prompt elections.
Additionally, the statement noted that the election schedule would beannounced in accordance with the revised date for constituencyfinalization. This announcement followed an ’emergency meeting’ convened bythe ECP after discussions with various stakeholders. The ECP had previouslyengaged with political parties to gauge their views on elections anddelimitation.
Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja chaired this crucialmeeting in Islamabad, where strategies for expediting the delimitationprocess were discussed. The ECP had assured the PPP, PML-Q, and TLPdelegations, during separate consultative meetings, of its commitment toadvancing the delimitation and scheduling the general polls.
It’s worth noting that the digital census data for 2023 was provided tothe ECP by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics earlier in the week. The ECPis now mandated to conduct the upcoming general polls based on this latestcensus data, and they have already outlined a schedule for revisingconstituencies accordingly.
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The 90-day constitutional limit for the ECP to hold elections expires onNovember 9, following the dissolution of the National Assembly on August 9.The ECP previously announced plans to revamp all national and provincialassembly constituencies based on the digital census within 120 days.Meanwhile, pressure is mounting on the electoral body due to the SupremeCourt’s dismissal of its review petition related to holding polls for thePunjab Assembly on May 14. The ECP must decide whether to hold generalelections within 90 days or seek the court’s guidance on conducting newdelimitation based on the 7th Population Census.