The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday decided to conduct a fresh delimitation of constituencies, which will take nearly four months. This development means that the general elections - supposed to be held within 90 days of the dissolution of the National Assembly - may not be held within the stipulated time frame.

The CCI approved the results of the 2023 digital census earlier this month, making it compulsory for the ECP to conduct fresh delimitation, which involves redrawing the boundaries of constituencies to ensure that they are of equal population size.

The dissolution of the National Assembly on August 9 has further complicated the matter, as the ECP will now have to consult with the new government before finalizing the delimitation plan. This could further delay the holding of general elections.

As a first step, the boundaries of administrative units across the country will be frozen by August 17, and the delimitation committees for all the provinces and the federal capital will be formed by August 21.

According to the delimitation schedule, the electoral watchdog will release the final publication of the delimitation on December 14, 2023.

The delay in the general elections is likely to be met with criticism from 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.