Delimitations to complete on May 3, says ECP
Commission asks provincial governments to freeze revenue area limits
PHOTO: File
ISLAMABAD:
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday decided to start fresh delimitation of constituencies in accordance with the 2017 population census results.
“The delimitation process will start from January 15 and will be completed by May 3,” Secretary Babar Yaqoob told the media after attending a high-profile meeting chaired by Chief Election Commissioner (retd) Justice Sardar Muhammad Raza to formulate a plan for holding general elections next year.
The meeting, attended by top ECP officials and representatives of the organisations concerned, marked commencement of preparatory work for the elections due in the last week of July or first week of August.
ECP gives government seven days to amend Constitution
The election authorities issued directives to all four provincial governments not to make any changes in the revenue areas in their respective jurisdiction.
With the passage of the Elections Bill 2017 and the subsequent amendment (24th constitution amendment) to provide for carrying out delimitation on the basis of the provisional census results, nine National Assembly seats from Punjab’s quota would be reduced and distributed among Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and ICT.
The election commission will also be starting updating voter list by including around 7.5 million new voters by April 30, the cut-off date after which it would freeze the electoral rolls.
According to the secretary, once the process of delimitations completes, the election commission would send a summary to the president to fix a date for the next general elections.
Parliament ‘should decide on delimitations’
The election body also decided that the provincial governments would be asked to install CCTV cameras at polling stations that would be declared ‘most sensitive’.
Provincial election commissioners and chief secretaries have been tasked to identify government buildings that need repairs before declaring them polling stations.
The ECP also issued directives to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics for provision of the census data, maps of 163,675 census blocks and copies of the other documents by January 10.
The commission requires provisional results of the census in district and tehsil circles and at census blocks level to complete the process on a war footing.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday decided to start fresh delimitation of constituencies in accordance with the 2017 population census results.
“The delimitation process will start from January 15 and will be completed by May 3,” Secretary Babar Yaqoob told the media after attending a high-profile meeting chaired by Chief Election Commissioner (retd) Justice Sardar Muhammad Raza to formulate a plan for holding general elections next year.
The meeting, attended by top ECP officials and representatives of the organisations concerned, marked commencement of preparatory work for the elections due in the last week of July or first week of August.
ECP gives government seven days to amend Constitution
The election authorities issued directives to all four provincial governments not to make any changes in the revenue areas in their respective jurisdiction.
With the passage of the Elections Bill 2017 and the subsequent amendment (24th constitution amendment) to provide for carrying out delimitation on the basis of the provisional census results, nine National Assembly seats from Punjab’s quota would be reduced and distributed among Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and ICT.
The election commission will also be starting updating voter list by including around 7.5 million new voters by April 30, the cut-off date after which it would freeze the electoral rolls.
According to the secretary, once the process of delimitations completes, the election commission would send a summary to the president to fix a date for the next general elections.
Parliament ‘should decide on delimitations’
The election body also decided that the provincial governments would be asked to install CCTV cameras at polling stations that would be declared ‘most sensitive’.
Provincial election commissioners and chief secretaries have been tasked to identify government buildings that need repairs before declaring them polling stations.
The ECP also issued directives to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics for provision of the census data, maps of 163,675 census blocks and copies of the other documents by January 10.
The commission requires provisional results of the census in district and tehsil circles and at census blocks level to complete the process on a war footing.