ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has been urged by the Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) to rigorously ensure the principle of population equality among electoral constituencies during the upcoming delimitation process.
On Thursday, the electoral body unveiled the schedule for the fresh delimitation process based on the new census approved by the Council of Common Interests (CCI) earlier this month.
According to the schedule, the electoral body will issue the notification for the new constituency delimitation across the country in December of this year.
FAFEN emphasized that substantial improvements in the delimitation process are essential to enhance the electoral process, prevent population imbalances across electoral areas, and guarantee representation of diverse geographical, linguistic, ethnic, and religious groups in elected bodies.
“It is one of the most crucial mechanisms for the state to allocate political power to citizens, and therefore, it must be just, equitable, and transparent,” the release stated.
According to the ECP’s schedule, the fresh delimitation process will span nearly four months, making it impossible to hold general elections within 90 days of the dissolution of provincial and national assemblies.
The ECP specified that constituency delimitation will take place across the country from September 8 to October 7.
The period for submitting proposals related to constituencies will be from October 10 to November 8.
Allocation of constituencies
The electoral body will allocate constituencies for the national and provincial assemblies from September 5 to September 7
Finalizing administrative matters concerning the constituencies will take place by August 31, and establishing constituency committees for the four provinces, including Islamabad, will occur by August 21.
The ECP announced that it will address objections regarding constituencies from November 10 to December 9, while noting the conclusion of the final publication of the digital census.
The Election Act obligates the ECP to redefine boundaries for numerous provincial and national assembly constituencies across the country.
In a CCI meeting chaired by then Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif earlier this month, the attendees approved the final results of the 7th Population and Housing Census 2023, revealing the country’s population as 241.49 million with a growth rate of 2.55%.
The CCI’s approval mandated the ECP to conduct elections following the new delimitations based on the results of the 7th census.
Article 51 (5) of the Constitution allocates seats in the National Assembly for each province and the federal capital based on population, according to the most recent officially published census.
The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)-led government dissolved the national and provincial assemblies of Sindh and Balochistan prematurely to allow the ECP to conduct elections within 90 days, instead of the standard 60 days, if the legislature completed its constitutional tenure.
