The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) revealed its delimitation schedule on Thursday, signaling a delay in the upcoming general elections.
As per the new plan, the polls will not take place within the customary 90-day period following the dissolution of the assemblies.
This alteration is a result of the fresh delimitation of constituencies, which will be conducted based on the recently approved census by the Council of Common Interest (CCI) earlier this month.
The ECP’s timeline outlines that the nationwide process of constituency delimitation will occur between September 8 and October 7. Proposals for constituencies will subsequently be submitted from October 10 to November 8. The allocation of constituencies for the national and provincial assemblies is slated from September 5 to September 7.
Administrative tasks related to the constituencies are anticipated to be finalized by August 31, while the establishment of constituency committees for the four provinces and Islamabad will be completed by August 21.
Addressing objections to the constituencies, the ECP has set the period from November 10 to December 9. The digital census’ final publication has already been concluded.
Citing Article 51 (5) of the Constitution, the ECP emphasized its constitutional duty to redefine boundaries for numerous provincial and national assembly constituencies based on the latest census results.
The process follows the Constitutional requirement for seat allocation to provinces and the federal capital, in accordance with population data from the last officially published census.
The CCI’s approval of the final results of the 7th Population and Housing Census 2023 earlier this month enforced the ECP’s obligation to conduct elections after fresh delimitations, due to constitutional obligations.
Challenging the CCI’s decision, the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) filed a petition on Wednesday urging the Supreme Court to direct the ECP to announce election dates for the national and provincial assemblies in accordance with Article 224(2) of the Constitution.
The SCBA also questioned the eligibility of interim chief ministers to participate in the August 5 CCI meeting.
