Pakistan election commission to complete delimitation process by 30 November for early polls

Pakistan’s top electoral body on Friday announced that the delimitation of constituencies will be finalised by November 30 to ensure polls are held as soon as possible, amid mounting pressure from political parties pressing for timely elections.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said a date for the elections will be announced keeping in view the schedule for the delimitation process.

It said the purpose of squeezing the duration of the delimitation process after holding consultations with political parties.

“The purpose of reducing the time frame of delimitation is to hold elections as soon as possible,” the ECP said in a statement.

General elections are scheduled to be held in Pakistan within 90 days after the dissolution of the National Assembly, which was prematurely dissolved on August 9.

The previous government just days before the end of its term announced that the elections could take place only after a new census was completed and new constituency boundaries were drawn.

The move triggered fears that the polls meant to be held within 90 days may be delayed till next year as the delimitation process would take about four months to complete.

The ECP's announcement allays those fears that the elections which should be held by November 9 could be delayed for several months.

The ECP announced last month that it would complete the delimitation exercise by December 14 and elections would be held after that.

The decision to shorten the timeframe of the delimitation comes amid mounting pressure on the ECP from several political parties that pressed for timely elections.

The Constitution also provides that the ECP should complete the delimitation process within 120 days. The election body would be in violation of the Constitution if the elections are not held within 90 days or new electoral districts are not marked.

Apparently, it cannot meet both requirements at the same time unless it completes the process of delimitation in the shortest time and holds elections before November 9.

There is also a possibility of President Arif Alvi unilaterally announcing a date for polls.

Though opinion is divided on the issue of who is empowered to announce such a date after the latest tweaks on the law empowered the ECP to determine the date, experts still believe that Alvi has the power to announce the polls.

Separately, President Alvi would likely defy the opinions of the ECP and the law ministry as he was contemplating announcing the date for the next general elections, sources familiar with the development told The Express Tribune newspaper.

According to the sources, the president might make the announcement as soon as he completes consultations with his legal aides.

The sources expected that the president would write another letter to the ECP, suggesting a date in November for the elections.

The sources said that President Alvi had been advised by his legal team that an act of Parliament could not override the provisions of the Constitution and that Parliament might have amended the Election Act 2017 but the Constitution was clear that polls would have to take place within 90 days.

“Based on that opinion, the president will communicate the election date to the Election Commission soon,” the report quoted a source as saying.

When approached, the President's House could not confirm the development, the report said.