ISLAMABAD – General elections, which were slated to be held this year, face delay as it will take months to complete the process of a census and draw new constituency boundaries.
Amid the concerns of several parties, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) assured that the polls could be held by mid-February, and hinted at the possibility of an early date if delimitation process completes faster.
Lately, the Awami National Party ANP requested an electoral watchdog to conduct election within 90 days and asked for an election date and schedule.
Following a meeting, ECP assured KP based party of mid-February elections, reiterating commitment to fasten the delimitation process for earlier elections.
Meanwhile, Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) also interacted with senior Election Commission officials to discuss the election date and schedule.
As political parties, activists, and local bodies denounced the Election Commission of Pakistan’s decision to delay elections beyond the constitutional limit of 90 days, the electoral authority defended its move.
In a statement, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said fresh delimitation of constituencies was a constitutional requirement for holding elections, saying without updated electoral rolls, voters will not have true representation.
ECP said accurate representation of voters, candidates, and political groups is the fundamental principle of constitutional democracy and the exercise is expected to be completed by December 14 over a month later after the deadline for conducting general elections.
ECP further maintained that as a consequence of the population census officially published, substantial changes in the population in the provinces and constituencies at the district level have occurred.
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