ECP likely to unveil polls schedule by Dec 5

Commission received a total of 1,324 objections to revamped constituencies

ISLAMABAD:

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is expected to release the schedule for the next general polls scheduled to be held on February 8, 2024 till December 5. The polls supervisor will publish the final lists on redrawn constituencies for national and provincial assemblies on Nov 30.

According to sources, the list of the constituencies in light of the fresh delimitation based on the 7th Population and Housing Census 2023 had been compiled ahead of their official announcement. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), upon announcing the preliminary delimitation, had invited objections to the revised constituencies until October 26. Subsequently, the ECP aimed to address these objections from October 28 to November 26.

A total of 1,324 objections were received by the election supervisor, with 672 from Punjab, 228 from Sindh, 293 from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, 124 from Balochistan, and seven from Islamabad.Moving forward, the election supervisor is anticipated to receive nomination papers starting December 17.

Read more ECP begins compiling final list of constituencies

Additionally, it has been reported that the voters' list will be published in the coming days. Any fresh delimitation after the census is a legal requirement in Pakistan. After the digital census between March 1 and May 30 and its notification in August, the ECP stated its inability to conduct general elections within the mandated 90-day period.

In the wake of the digital census, the strength of the National Assembly was decreased by six seats to 336 as the ECP reduced the representation of the newly merged districts in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) from 12 to six. In 2018, the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) was merged with K-P under the 25th Constitutional Amendment and initially 12 National Assembly seats were allocated to those districts for one time, which had now been reduced to six.

Hence, K-P’s strength in the National Assembly comes down to 45 from 51 in 2018. However, Punjab retained its 141 National Assembly seats; Sindh 51, Balochistan 16 and Islamabad three. Similarly, the provincial assemblies would comprise: Punjab 297 seats; Sindh 130; K-P 115 and Balochistan 51.

On Sunday, the ECP appointed 32 Regional Election Commissioners (RECs) as Regional Monitoring Coordinators (RMCs) to ensure effective monitoring of the 2024 general elections, the ECP spokesperson said. The appointed RMCs will play a crucial role in guaranteeing comprehensive monitoring at the division level. They are also responsible for guiding and supervising the monitoring teams within their respective districts during the upcoming general elections.