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EDITORIAL: Whatever hiccup or procedural oversight led the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet to delay approval of Rs 5 billion for the 7th census one day before the federal cabinet green-lighted it has fortunately been overcome, so now there’s no reason for this exercise not to be completed sooner rather than later.

It is a constitutional requirement, after all, and since the results of the last one were disputed, it was wisely decided to make this one a digital population and housing census carried out in accordance with international best practices by using the latest technology.

Most likely the prime minister got a few calls from some of his allies in the short time between the ECC’s mysterious delaying tactics and the cabinet meeting, which he presided over. Parties from Sindh, particularly Karachi, were especially upset last time and disagreements and disappointments even caused fissures all the way to the top of the previous coalition government.

The pilot project was completed on 3 August 2022, so the delay, even before ECC chipped in, should have already raised questions.

The biggest challenge is going to be ensuring real-time monitoring and geo-tagging of all structures at the block level when the actual project takes off. And gladly so far there’s been nothing unexpected or worrisome in the testing phase. Still, enough time must be left after it is complete to ratify results if they are right and correct them if they are wrong.

A strange election season is all but upon us because already, while there’s still some time before proper campaigning begins, it has become extraordinarily toxic and controversial. And the last thing anybody needs is more accusations and counter-accusations just because the government couldn’t stick to its own schedule for the digital census.

Let’s not forget that the option to go digital was taken to remove all doubts and ambiguities that crop up every other time. If this process drags on endlessly and leaves very little time before the election, then it might also end up becoming part of the problem instead of the solution.

This is also one of those rare things that nobody should have any issues with. Everybody wants all elections to be free, fair and transparent where no party or group can tilt the scale by squeezing out unfair demographic advantages.

Therefore, how quickly this process begins and how effectively it is monitored will make all the difference. The Rs 5 billion for this purpose that the ECC made controversial for a while was duly budgeted for this year, so there should not be any hurdles for the government till the finish line.

Hopefully, the government will not have to be reminded that this must now become a regular affair. It’s a shame that such constitutional necessities can freeze at the bottom of the priority list and nobody, not even self-professed champions of democracy, is bothered enough to do much about it. Digital technology ought to help change that provided the will is there.

When there’s no census, it’s not just electoral policy that gropes in the dark, but also economic planning, distribution of goods, climate policy, etc. Cash-starved third world countries have precious little money to throw at such things to begin with, which makes it even more important to get the data right. Just the other day the World Bank rattled the country by warning about an imminent explosion in the poverty rate because of the floods. If the government has only vague information to go on, there’s no way it can get any important job done.

Needless to say, it is the government’s responsibility to make sure that all agencies involved work responsibly and professionally andmeet the census deadline.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022

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