Passage of delimitation bill: government fails to win support of opposition parties in Senate

Despite weeklong lobbying to get the all important delimitation bill passed from the Senate, the government one again miserably failed on Monday to win the support of opposition parties, creating uncertainty for next general election to be held on time. The government had called the Senate session on November 22 after clearing the bill from National Assembly, but despite all-out efforts it could not muster the support of opposition parties for passage of the bill.
After hours long deliberations chaired by Chairman Senate Raza Rabbani, the parliamentary leaders of all political parties in Senate could not build consensus on the bill. The meeting ended inconclusive as Pakistan Peoples Party remained stuck to its guns, saying it would not support the bill unless there is assurance from the government to implement the CCI decision that greed upon a third-party audit of 5 percent census blocks.
The passage of the bill - a formality since the Council of Common Interest (CCI) gave it a go-ahead on November 13 and it was agreed upon by all political parties - has been delayed since last week due to lack of required number of senators. The chairman Senate who presided over the meeting in two different sessions failed to convince the PPP senators, as they plainly refused to support the government on the bill, saying nothing could be said unless the senior leadership of the party gives a go-ahead.
The bill, which was expected to be passed from the Senate on Monday as it came on the order of the day for fourth consecutive time during a weeklong session, was put on the backburner after the Senate session was prorogued sine die. The passage of the constitutional amendment bill is considered a must as it will allow Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to undertake delimitation of National Assembly constituencies on the basis of provisional census results, and the delay in delimitation will certainly delay the next general election.