FAFEN demands ECP to delimit constituencies of equal population

ISLAMABAD: The Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) has urged the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to strictly ensure the principle of equality of population among electoral constituencies in the fresh delimitation exercise.

On Thursday, the electoral body announced the schedule of fresh delimitations to be carried out as per the new census approved by the Council of Common Interests (CCI) earlier this month.

As per the schedule, the new delimitation of the constituencies across the country will be notified in December this year.

In a press release issued on Sunday, FAFEN that substantial improvements in the delimitation process are critical to improving the electoral process and preventing imbalance of population across electoral precincts and ensuring the representativeness of all geographical, linguist, ethnic, and religious diversity in the elected bodies.

"Delimitation is one of the most critical mechanisms of allocating political power to people by the state, and therefore, must be just, fair, and transparent," it added. 

The ECP schedule showed that fresh delimitation will take nearly four months, meaning the general elections in the country cannot be held within 90 days of the dissolution of the provincial and national assemblies.

The ECP said delimitation of the constituencies will be held across the country from September 8 to October 7.

It said the proposals regarding constituencies will be submitted from October 10 to November 8. 

The quota of constituencies of the national and provincial assemblies will be allocated from September 5 to September 7, the electoral body said.

It added that the administrative matters related to the constituencies will be completed by August 31 while constituency committees of four provinces including Islamabad will be established by August 21.

The electoral body said it will decide on the objections to the constituencies from November 10 to December 9, adding that the final publication of the digital census has been completed.

As per the Election Act, the ECP is bound to draw new boundaries for hundreds of provincial and national assembly constituencies across the country, the statement added.

Earlier this month. the CCI meeting chaired by then prime minister Shehbaz Sharif approved the final results of the 7th Population and Housing Census 2023 reporting the country’s population at 241.49 million with a growth rate of 2.55%.

The CCI approval made it constitutionally mandatory for the ECP to hold elections following fresh delimitations in the light of the results of the 7th census.

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.

The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)-led government dissolved the national and provincial assemblies of Sindh and Balochistan prematurely to allow the ECP to hold elections in the country within 90 days instead of 60 days if the legislature completed its constitutional tenure.