ECP wants digital census results by March

In a letter to planning ministry, ECP emphasises timely completion of the exercise

ISLAMABAD:

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) whirred into action for the timely completion of the 7th Digital Population & Housing Census 2022 and said that the exercise – a constitutional requirement – was imperative for conducting delimitation of constituencies across the country before the next general elections.

In a letter to the planning ministry, ECP said that in order to carry out fresh delimitations based on the digital census information, the census results must be provided by March 31, 2023, so that they can complete their exercise in time.

“If digital census results are not published by March 31, new constituencies will be difficult,” the letter stated. It also mentioned that the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) has been repeatedly asked to wrap up the census by December 31.

“It was informed that the final results will be published by March 31 instead of December. After the census, new constituencies are required under the Constitution,” the letter further emphasised.

It added that it was necessary to publish the final results of the digital census by March 31 to conduct the general elections on time.

Earlier this week, Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal had directed the PBS and provincial governments to ensure effective coordination for the timely completion of the seventh housing and population census.

The minister said PBS would share information so the ECP is able to complete its homework before the start of the delimitation exercise.

PBS will officially hand over digital census information to the ECP on April 30, 2023.

He also revealed that the exercise would cost around Rs34 billion and directed PBS to share details of the procurement carried out for the census.

Meanwhile, the PBS chief statistician said that with the support of all relevant stakeholders, it had completed all major tasks and was now prepared for the full rollout of the census.