ECP plans to publish preliminary delimitations by Sept 27

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has directed its delimitation committee to complete work by September 26, state-run Radio Pakistan reported on Monday.

This will enable the election watchdog publish preliminary delimitations on September 27, according to a spokesperson of the ECP.

According to details, the commission reviewed the pace of work of the delimitation committees and expressed its satisfaction in this regard.

It may be noted that the ECP has decided to publish the list of final constituencies by November 30. The election watchdog decided to shorten the time frame after consultation with political parties. The previous date was December 14, 2023.

In a statement earlier this month, the ECP said its would announce the date for polls keeping in view the schedule for the delimitation process.

Meanwhile, President Dr Arif Alvi has proposed November 6 as election date, saying that under Article 48 (5), the general elections should be held within 90 days of the dissolution of the National Assembly.

The National Assembly was prematurely dissolved on August 9, 2023.

A week before dissolution of the lower house, a meeting of the Council of Common Interests (CCI) approved the first-ever digital Population and Housing Census 2023.

The approval aroused fears that the polls could be delayed as the ECP would need to go for fresh delimitations as per the new census.