Elections delay inevitable as ECP announces delimitation schedule

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has announced the schedule of delimitation of constituencies as required by Article 51 of the constitution of Pakistan and section 17(2) of the Elections Act 2017, in accordance with the official results of the 7th Population and Housing Census-2023. The schedule makes it almost impossible to conduct elections in the next 90 days, as per constitutional requirements.

According to the given schedule, the final publication of the delimitation will be on December 14th, 2023.

Notification of Delimitation issued by Election Commission today on 17th August, 2023…@ECP_Pakistan pic.twitter.com/ahKFaZxSxM

— Spokesperson ECP (@SpokespersonECP) August 17, 2023

As per the schedule, boundaries of administrative units across the country will stand frozen from today (August 17) and delimitation committees for all the provinces and the federal capital will be formed by Aug 21.

In another notification, the ECP has directed its provincial chief secretaries, chief commissioner, the federal government, and the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics to provide assistance in the process.

ڈیجیٹل مردم شماری کی سرکاروں اشاعت شدہ نتائج کے مطابق الیکشن کمیشن بے حلقہ بندیاں کرنے کا فیصلہ کر لیا ھے @ECP_Pakistan pic.twitter.com/yl8Rt7YHcu

— Spokesperson ECP (@SpokespersonECP) August 17, 2023