Election commission of Pakistan. PHOTO: ONLINE
For reshaping the boundaries, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) needs final census data as well as digital maps along with the description of areas and clearly-marked boundaries of the national and provincial assemblies’ constituencies.
What causes the real hurdle is that the ECP will not be able to obtain the said data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) – which conducted this year’s population headcount – by April next year.
It will take the ECP six to seven months to complete the delimitation process; and under its newly-proposed law, the exercise has to be completed at least six months before the next election. The leaves the ECP in a quandary on how to go about carrying out the delimitation exercise.
Party strategies for 2018 general elections leaked
If boundaries for the national and provincial assemblies’ constituencies are marked in accordance with the 1998 census, hundreds of thousands of new census blocks, involving more than 20 million people, will be left out of the polling exercise.
This year’s population census – whose data is still being compiled – has revealed that census blocks, which become basis for marking boundaries of constituencies, have exceeded to more 162,000 from the existing 140,000.
“Addition of more than 22,000 blocks would mean new dwellings with approximately more than 20 million people,” a top ECP official disclosed to The Express Tribune based on its interaction with the PBS.
The ECP had for the first time planned to carry out delimitations using satellite GPS in order to do away with the traditional delimitation exercise, thereby averting maneuvering by powerful political groups.
The ECP had planned to start the work on delimitations from next month. However, after the PBS had revealed to the election authorities that the final data would only be available early next year, it jeopardised the ECP plans.
The last proper delimitation exercise had been carried out before the 2002 general election. In two subsequent elections in 2008 and 2013, ‘re-description’ of the constituencies had been done since no population census had taken place till then.
Musharraf likely to contest 2018 general elections
The way delimitations were conducted in 2002 has always been questioned.
According to a top ECP official, boundaries of several constituencies were marked to benefit certain groups in pre-election rigging exercise knows as jeremendaring.
Giving Karachi’s example, the official said if the existing delimitation maps were joined together, they would not match Karachi’s actual map because some geographically unattached areas had been added to some constituencies to benefit a certain political group. Same is the case with many other constituencies across the country, he added.
If the ECP again goes for a re-description, instead of complete fresh delimitations, it might help the traditional political players.
Similarly, delay on the part of the government in passing the proposed set of laws to reform conventional election system has already jeopardised many other plans the electoral body had announced to make the next polls credible.
Insisting that time is running out for electoral reforms, ECP officials have asked the parliamentary committee to expedite the process. Some officials doubt it to be a deliberate attempt on the part of the authorities to delay the process for their own benefit.
“It seems the government is not serious at all in finalising the new electoral laws. This is going to create a lot of problems for the 2018 general election,” Chief Election Commissioner Justice (retd) Sardar Muhammad Raza was quoted as saying in an official handout issued after a recent meeting with PBS officials.
Asif Bajwa, the chief census commissioner, had informed the meeting that the PBS would publish the final data of this year’s population census by April next year. He offered provisional data to the ECP. And this took the ECP by surprise.
“Unless we are provided the final data, we cannot go for delimitations. We will be compelled to conduct the next election, due in July or August next year, with existing boundaries,” Raza told the meeting.
According to the ECP officials, under the law new delimitations could only be conducted on the receipt of the final official report of census data and maps from the PBS.
When the story of CEC’s remarks admonishing the government was published, the ECP officials said the commission is yet to decide if new delimitations would be carried out on the basis of the 1998 census data or the 2017 census data, which is still unavailable.Irfa
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ