Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) on Sunday expressed willingness to accept a potential delay in the upcoming general elections due to a fresh delimitation of constituencies in alignment with the newly conducted Census 2023.
The party’s convener, Dr. Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, and party leader Farooq Sattar jointly addressed the press conference here in this regard.
Dr. Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui stated that despite the urgency for transparent elections in Karachi, the delay caused by the process of delimiting constituencies based on the 2023 census data wouldn’t be unfavorable.
He criticized the imposition of “fake representatives” on the city in previous elections and expressed the need for fair, transparent, and impartial elections that would gain universal acceptance.
Siddiqui raised a question about those advocating for the retention of old constituencies instead of adopting the new ones established through the fresh census.
He highlighted that the census had led to the registration of millions of new voters, rendering the delimitation of constituencies imperative.
According to the recent census, projections indicated that Karachi could potentially gain around four additional seats in the provincial assembly and one seat in the National Assembly.
However, the ultimate outcome would depend on whether the delimitation process occurred at the divisional or district level.
If divisional-level delimitation were undertaken, Karachi might see a rise of four provincial assembly seats and one in the National Assembly. Conversely, with district-level delimitation, the city could secure three more provincial assembly seats and one National Assembly seat.
The National Census report, unveiled by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics on August 6, underscored Karachi’s significant share of 22.23% in the provincial assembly and 47.57% in the National Assembly seats. The report also indicated a reshuffling of seats, with one National Assembly seat from Shaheed Benazirabad and multiple provincial assembly seats from various regions reallocated to Karachi.
Meanwhile, Dr. Farooq Sattar, another leader of MQM-P, criticized the government for the recent surge in power tariffs, asserting that the populace was increasingly dissenting, pushing the nation towards a state of civil disobedience.
He warned that this trajectory could lead to the creation of a “state within a state.” Sattar pledged MQM-P’s solidarity with protests against the tariff hikes.
