FAFEN underscores need for ‘electoral fairness’ thru delimitation exercise

ISLAMABAD: The Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) on Sunday called upon the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to prioritize the principle of population equality in electoral constituencies during the upcoming delimitation exercise.

It said the 7th Population and Housing Census-2023, necessitates adjustments to constituency boundaries to ensure fair representation for all citizens, said a press release.

FAFEN said in light of recent amendments to the Elections Act, 2017, including the addition of a new proviso to Section 20 (3), the ECP was no longer bound to strictly adhere to existing district boundaries. This change was implemented to prevent population disparities in constituencies from exceeding 10 per cent, it added.

It emphasized that such measures were essential to uphold the fairness of the electoral process, as stipulated under Article 218 (3) of the Constitution.

FAFEN highlighted that the unequal size of constituencies not only violated citizens’ constitutional right to equality (Article 25) but also undermined the spirit of fair representation. The insertion of the new proviso in Section 20 (3) effectively neutralized the requirement that previously compelled the ECP to consider existing administrative unit boundaries during delimitation, it added.

It said the previous delimitation of National and Provincial Assembly constituencies in 2022 resulted in 82 National Assembly (NA) and 88 Provincial Assemblies’ (PA) constituencies having population variations exceeding 10 per cent from the respective seat quotas such as; NA-39 Bannu, the largest constituency, was nearly three times larger in population compared to the smallest, NA-42 Tank.

FAFEN estimated that if district boundaries were followed, constituencies from two-thirds of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa districts, half of Sindh districts, one-third of Punjab districts, and all Balochistan districts may experience population variance exceeding 10 per cent.

It recommended the ECP consider amending its rules for delimitation to align with the new proviso in Section 20 (3). Specifically, FAFEN suggested changing Rules 10 (4) and 10 (5) to limit population variance within a province to a maximum of 10 per cent, instead of five per cent within a district. Additionally, it called for the inclusion of an updated population column in Form-7 (Final List of Constituencies) after addressing representations filed on the draft list.

FAFEN also advocated for greater transparency by urging the ECP to make it mandatory for Delimitation Committees to provide detailed explanations for cases where variance exceeds 10 per cent. The organization emphasized the need for clear definitions of factors to be considered during delimitation and recommends amendments to Rules 12 and 13 to streamline the representation process.

In conclusion, FAFEN underscored that enhancing the delimitation process was pivotal to ensuring electoral fairness and preventing imbalances in population representation. The organization stressed that delimitation was a crucial mechanism for allocating political power and must be carried out justly, fairly, and transparently.