The Election Commission of Pakistan on Friday announced that it has decided to shorten the time frame of the delimitation of constituencies and will complete the process by November 30.
In a press release, the electoral body said: “The purpose of reducing the time frame of delimitation is to hold elections as soon as possible.”
“The polls schedule will be announced keeping this date in mind,” it stated, adding that the decision was taken after feedback from political parties.
The ECP has been holding consultations with various parties on the electoral roadmap in recent days. The meetings come against the backdrop of the electoral watchdog ruling out elections this year, while the 90-day limit for holding polls — mandated under Article 224 of the Constitution, ends on November 9.
The ECP reasons its decision to push elections beyond November 9 on the basis of the notification of results of the new digital 2023 census and Section 17(2) of the Elections Act, which states: “The commission shall delimit constituencies after every census is officially published.”
Earlier Friday, a consultative meeting took place between the ECP and the GDA to discuss a roadmap for the coming elections.
The meeting was presided over by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja. Fehmida Mirza, Safdar Abbasi, Kashif Nazamani and Ibn Muhammad were part of the GDA delegation while party leaders Sardar Abdul Rahim and Irfanullah Khan Marwat participated via video link.
According to a handout issued by the electoral watchdog, the GDA delegation lent full support to ECP’s delimitation plan and said that delimitation was the basis of holding transparent polls.
