Delimitations: ECP issues preliminary constituency lists

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) published the preliminary constituency lists on Wednesday, completing the task 15 days before the deadline, Aaj News reported.

The electoral watchdog was supposed to issue the preliminary lists on October 10.

The election watchdog decided to shorten the time frame after consultation with political parties.

Earlier, the ECP stated that it wanted to shorten delimitation time so that polls could be held as early as possible.

According to the ECP, objections to the preliminary constituency lists will be entertained until October 26, with hearings on these objections slated to run until November 25.

The final electoral rolls are scheduled for release by November 30, and within 54 days following this publication, the Election Commission has outlined the election timetable.

The ECP has already announced general elections in the last week of January 2024.

Last week, the ECP had said that a meeting with political parties will be scheduled on October 4 to discuss the code of conduct for general elections.

According to a statement, the meeting will be held at its secretariat in Islamabad on October 4 at 2 pm in compliance with Section 233 of the Elections Act 2017.

“In this regard, a copy of the draft Code of Conduct has also been sent to the leaders of political parties so that they can provide their feedback during the consultation,” the ECP said.

The National Assembly was dissolved on August 9 — a scenario which implies that the general elections are required to be held not later than November 7 this year, within the 90-day period mandated by the constitution.

Article 224(2) provides that when the NA or a provincial assembly is dissolved, a general election to the assembly shall be held within a period of 90 days after the dissolution, and the results of the election shall be declared not later than 14 days after the conclusion of the polls.

Earlier this month, President Dr Arif Alvi had proposed November 6 as the date for elections in a letter to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja.

The general elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have already been witnessing inordinate delay – keeping in view that both the provincial legislatures were dissolved in January this year and respective caretaker governments are since running the affairs of the two provinces.

The delay in the general elections has met with criticism from some political parties, who have demanded that the elections be held as soon as possible.

However, the ECP has said that it is committed to conducting a fair and transparent delimitation process and will not compromise on the quality of the delimitation plan.