ECP seeks four more months to hold polls

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday sought four more months from President Arif Alvi in order to complete the process of delimitation of constituencies.

“The elections can be held honestly, justly and fairly in October,” the electoral watchdog said in a statement issued in response to the president’s letter asking it to propose dates for holding the general polls in the country.

In his letter, Alvi had written that under articles 48(5)(A) and 224(2) of the Constitution, he had to set a date – not later than 90 days from the date of the dissolution of the National Assembly -- for holding the general elections.

The ECP in its reply said it was an “independent, constitutional entity, entrusted with the sacred duty of organising and conducting elections in terms of Article 218(3) of the Constitution and to make such arrangements and are necessary to ensure that the election is conducted honestly, justly, fairly and in accordance with law, and that corrupt practices are guarded against".

The electoral watchdog also asked the president to hold more meetings with it so that there could be further deliberations on the matter.

The commission also explained in detail the reasons behind delays in the process of fresh delimitations after a local newspaper had quoted an ECP official saying that the general elections were not possible within three months because of legal and operational constraints.

The ECP informed the president in its letter that delimitation of constituencies was one of the "foundational steps" towards polls and conducted on the basis of final publication of the census results.

It pointed out that the provisional results of the 6th national census, conducted in 2017, were published on January 3, 2018. “The delimitation of the NA and provincial assemblies was carried out on the basis of these results as a one-time dispensation granted by the amendment made under Article 51(5) of the Constitution for general elections 2018.”

Also read: Alvi asks ECP to propose polls date

The commission emphasised that the final publication of official results of the census was a constitutional requirement of delimitation for the next elections.

"Accordingly, the commission made concerted efforts and took up the matter of final publication of the official census results."

The ECP said letters were written to Prime Minister Imran Khan and other relevant departments for this purpose.

It noted that as the number of seats in the lower house of parliament had reduced after the merger of erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) with Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, it was mandatory that fresh delimitation be carried out in the province.

"But it was not possible due to the non-publication of official census results by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.”

The ECP said it had started the process of delimitation and approved timelines for it after the Council of Common Interests “finally” published the 6th national census results.

However, the government decided to hold a fresh digital census and "the commission was constrained to halt the process of delimitation for which the schedule had already been approved”.

Letters were written to the parliamentary affairs ministry in September 2021 and January this year for finalisation and publication of fresh digital census results by the end of 2022 so that delimitation could be completed "well within time as the digital census was planned to be completed by March 2023".

However, the ECP had not received any reply from the ministry on the matter and therefore, the delimitation was delayed.

The ECP claimed that it was not the sole authority to make rules for conducting the elections and under the law, remained dependent on federal and provincial governments for the "required feedback".

The ECP has convened a meeting on the current political situation of the country on Friday (today) at 10am. The CEC will preside over the meeting.