Dodgy delimitations: K-P assembly speaker to write to ECP

Qaiser and other lawmakers concerned over the way provincial assembly constituencies were allotted

PESHAWAR: Following Monday’s announcement of delimitations for provincial and national assembly constituencies by the top poll body, the provincial assembly is mulling writing a letter to the body to voice its reservations over the delimitations process.

Under the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) new delimitations based on last year’s census results, certain districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) including Chitral, Charsadda, Haripur, Abbottabad and Swabi have all lost a provincial assembly constituency each.

K-P Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser and lawmakers of hailing from these districts are concerned about the seats they have lost in the delimitations and the assembly has passed a resolution on the subject whereby lawmakers protested the loss of constituencies.

Speaking to the media outside the Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday, Qaiser said that he is in contact with parliamentary leaders of all parties in the assembly and that he will write a letter to the ECP about this.

He added that should they fail to resolve the matter amicably with the apex poll body, they will challenge the delimitations in the PHC.

Meanwhile, sources in the assembly secretariat said that even if drafted, the letter has yet to be dispatched to the ECP.

In the new delimitations, Peshawar gained three new provincial assembly constituencies while Swat and Dir have been limited to one constituency each.

Similarly, the province has got four new constituencies of the national assembly which have been given to Peshawar, Swat, Tank and Dir Lower.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 7^th, 2018.