ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal says that conducting elections within the specified timeframe is only feasible if they are based on the 2017 census.
Ahsan Iqbal addressed the legal complications arising from the delayed notification of the digital census, which concluded on May 15. The provisional results showed a population of 250 million.
According to Article 51 of the Constitution, seats in the National Assembly must be allocated based on the population recorded in the most recent officially published census.
However, even if the results are notified by the Council of Common Interests (CCI), the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) does not have sufficient time to carry out the delimitation process. It usually requires a minimum of 4 months.
Additionally, the coalition government does not possess the two-thirds majority in the National Assembly necessary for a constitutional amendment to change the number of seats.
Ahsan Iqbal explained that the original deadline for notifying the census results was April 30. The provinces requested multiple extensions of the enumeration process due to identified discrepancies.
The final census revealed unusual population increases in certain areas. The committee of demographers recommended investigating undercounts or overcounts with SUPARCO’s assistance to authenticate CCI results.
Even if the census is completed right now, it will not be conducted before July 30. The delimitation process is still pending after the new census. The Election Commission of Pakistan must make the final decision regarding the election date.
The minister stated that conducting elections based on the new census results is not feasible. Therefore the elections should be based on the old census. He emphasized that a constitutional amendment requires a two-thirds majority.
Ahsan Iqbal also opposed any delay in the elections, it could lead the country toward a new economic crisis.
