ISLAMABAD: Following the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) announcement of fresh delimitations, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) opposed the decision. They stated that redrawing constituency boundaries is not a “constitutional requirement.”
The electoral authority declared that new delimitations would take place nationwide, based on a recently approved census from the Council of Common Interest (CCI) meeting last month.
This will result in a delay beyond the 90-day constitutional requirement for the country’s general elections.
As outlined by the electoral body, the ECP schedule sets the process of fresh delimitation to last approximately four months, scheduled from September 8 to October 7.
PPP Stands Firm For Timely Elections Amid Delimitation Controversy
In response to the ECP’s announcement, PPP spokesperson Faisal Karim Kundi emphasized that the party has consistently advocated for elections to adhere to the Constitution.
He further added, “There is no constitutional requirement to do delimitations but there is a constitutional requirement to hold elections within 90 days.”
The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)-led government in the Centre, with the PPP as a key ally, “unanimously” endorsed the new census earlier this month. This endorsement necessitated the ECP to undertake fresh delimitations prior to conducting elections.
According to the provided schedule, the notification for the new constituency delimitation across the country will be issued in December of this year.
Citing the Election Act, the ECP stated its obligation to redefine boundaries for numerous provincial and national assembly constituencies nationwide.
Article 51 (5) of the Constitution dictates that seats in the National Assembly for each province and the federal capital should be allocated based on the population according to the latest officially published census.
One day earlier, a petitioner submitted a plea to the Supreme Court, urging the ECP to establish a date for national and provincial assembly elections in accordance with Article 224(2) of the Constitution.
The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), representing top lawyers, implored the highest court in its petition to suspend the August 5 decision made by the CCI.
