ISLAMABAD: President Arif Alvi has extended an invitation to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja for a meeting, either today or tomorrow. The purpose of the meeting is to determine a suitable date for the upcoming general elections.
Alvi wrote a letter to the CEC today, referencing the constitutional obligation for the president to finalize a date for general elections within 90 days subsequent to the dissolution of the National Assembly (NA).
In the letter, the president pointed out that the NA was dissolved on August 9 based on the counsel of the then-prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, a departure from its mandated timeframe of three days.
Former ECP Secretary Says Elections Not Possible Before May 2024
Earlier, Kanwar Dilshad, the former secretary of ECP, said the next elections could be feasible no earlier than May 2024. He emphasized that his prediction is based on professional experience in the field.
Dilshad elaborated that the process of constituency delimitation based on the 2023 census would require approximately four months. After that, the revision of electoral rolls based on the new population count would take three months. Following this, a minimum of 54 days, roughly two months, would be needed to establish the election schedule. Therefore, considering these timings, the next elections could be feasible no earlier than May 2024.
Dilshad emphasized that his insights are based on his professional experience. He underscored the importance of accounting for the revision of electoral rolls, pointing to the Election Act of 2017.
The ECP recently declared its legal obligation to conduct fresh delimitation of constituencies after the official results of the seventh Population and Housing Digital Census 2023 were published. The nationwide delimitation process is set to take place from September 8 to October. Following that, constituency proposals are expected to be submitted between October 10 and November 8. Allocation of quotas for constituencies in national and provincial assemblies is set for September 5 to September 7.
As per the outlined schedule, preliminary constituency delimitation boundaries will be made public by October 9. The ECP will entertain representations against these boundaries until November 11. The resolution of these representations will take place by December 8, 2023, followed by the publication of final delimitations on December 14, 2023.
