ISLAMABAD: Shortly after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) announced holding fresh delimitations, the PPP on Thursday opposed the decision, saying drawing new boundaries of constituencies is not a “constitutional requirement”. The electoral authority has announced that new delimitations will be carried out across the country on the basis of a new census approved by the Council of Common Interest (CCI) meeting last month, meaning the general elections in the country will be delayed beyond its 90 days constitutional requirement.
The ECP schedule showed that fresh delimitation will take nearly four months, to be held from September 8 to October 7, as per the electoral body’s schedule.
Reacting to the ECP’s announcement, PPP spokesperson Faisal Karim Kundi said the party has been demanding elections to be held as per the Constitution.
“There is no constitutional requirement to do delimitations but there is [a] constitutional requirement to hold elections within 90 days,” he added.
The PPP was a key ally of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)-led government in the Centre, which “unanimously” approved the new census earlier this month, requiring the ECP to carry out fresh delimitations before holding polls.
As per the schedule, the new delimitation of the constituencies across the country will be notified in December this year.
As per the Election Act, the ECP said it is bound to draw new boundaries for hundreds of provincial and national assembly constituencies across the country.
According to Article 51 (5) of the Constitution, the seats of the National Assembly to each province and the federal capital shall be allocated on the basis of population in accordance with the last preceding census officially published.
A day earlier, a petition was also filed in the Supreme Court for holding seeking its orders for the ECP to announce a date for polls to the national and provincial assemblies as per Article 224(2) of the Constitution.
In its petition, the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) top lawyers’ body pleaded with the top court to suspend the August 5 decision of the CCI. –Agencies
