ISLAMABAD: The Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) has urged the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to firmly enforce demographic equality in electoral constituencies in the next delimitation exercise.
The electoral authority published the schedule of new delimitations for the next census agreed by the CCI earlier this month.
As scheduled, the new constituency delimitations nationwide will be announced in December.
FAFEN stated in a Sunday press release that substantial delimitation process improvements are necessary to improve the electoral process. As well as revent population imbalance across electoral precincts. And ensure the representation of all geographical, linguist, ethnic, and religious diversity in elected bodies.
“Delimitation is one of the most important mechanisms of state political power distribution. So it must be just, fair, and transparent,” it said.
The ECP schedule showed that fresh delimitation will take approximately four months. Therefore general elections cannot held within 90 days of the province and national assembly’ dissolution.
The ECP stated constituency delimitation will occur nationwide from September 8 to October 7.
From October 10 to November 8, constituency plans will be submitted.
The election body will distribute national and provincial assembly constituencies from September 5 to 7.
Administrative matters pertaining to constituencies will completed by August 31. While, constituency committees of four provinces, including Islamabad, will be created by August 21.
The electoral commission said it will decide constituency objections from November 10 to December 9 after publishing the digital census.
The statement noted that the Election Act requires the ECP to create new borders for hundreds of province and national assembly constituencies.
CCI Meeting
Earlier this month, the CCI meeting chaired by then-prime minister Shehbaz Sharif accepted the 7th Population and Housing Census 2023’s final data, which showed a population increase rate of 2.55% to 241.49 million.
The ECP constitutionally required to organise elections after new delimitations based on the 7th census after CCI clearance.
Article 51 (5) of the Constitution allocates National Assembly members to provinces and the federal capital based on population from the last official census.
The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)-led government dissolved Sindh and Balochistan’s national and provincial parliament early to allow the ECP to organise elections within 90 days instead of 60 days if the legislature completed its constitutional term.
