Senate passes crucial amendment bill on delimitation with two-third majority

ISLAMABAD - The Senate on Tuesday passed the constitutional amendment to consider provisional results of census 2017 to make delimitation of constituencies, paving the way for the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to carry out fresh delimitation of constituencies ahead of the next general elections.

The Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Sheikh Aftab Ahmed presented the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2017 aimed for delimitation of constituencies which was passed with more than two-third majority votes. A total of 84 Senators voted in favour of the bill and one lawmaker opposed it.

The bill will decrease nine National Assembly seats (7 general and two women seats) of the most populous Punjab province and will increase five seats (four general and women seats )of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, three seats of the largest province of Balochistan (two general, one women seats) and one of the federal capital.

The number of NA seats for Sindh province and FATA will remain the same.

A total of 82 members in the House of 104 members voted in favour of the motion to present the bill. In favour of the clause 2, 82, Senators voted in favour of it and none of the lawmakers opposed it while 83 Senators voted in favour of preamble and title of the bill and no one opposed it.

The parliamentarians cast 84 votes in favour of the amendment, which required 69 to pass with a two-thirds majority in the house of 104. The House was asked for the division before the passage of the bill and 84 lawmakers voted in favour of the bill and one lawmaker opposed it.

The bill seeks to carry out fresh delimitation of constituencies on the basis of officially published census results. It asks to allow delimitation for the General Elections 2018 on the basis of the provisional results of the 6th Population and Housing Census 2017.