PPP reiterates call for holding general elections in 90 days
"CCI meeting had said that the elections would not be delayed due to fresh delimitations," says Sherry Rehman
August 25, 2023
- Sherry Rehman terms 2023 census as "controversial".
- "CEC members believe there shouldn't be delay in polls."
- Our aim is that elections should be held on time: ex-CM.
Pakistan Peoples Party's (PPP) top leadership has said that their party wants the general elections to be conducted within 90 days, stressing that the country will suffer from a constitutional crisis if polls exceed the three-month period.
The PPP's leaders held a press conference on Friday after a meeting of their central executive committee (CEC) where elections and the deteriorating economy came under discussion.
On August 17, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) announced the schedule of new delimitations to be carried out as per the new census approved by the Council of Common Interests (CCI) earlier this month.
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.
Terming the 2023 census as "controversial", PPP Vice President Senator Sherry Rehman said that the CCI meeting had said that the elections would not be delayed due to fresh delimitations.
She said that all the CEC members were of the same view that there is no room for a delay in polls. "There were no changes in the [National Assembly] seats, hence, the elections should not be delayed."
The PPP senior leader further said that her party will have a meeting with the ECP after which they will hold another huddle. "The caretaker government is not authorised to make changes in the Constitution and changing the law is not the interim setup's mandate."
'Census doesn't require fresh delimitations'
Sindh's former chief minister Murad Ali Shah said that they do not want the elections to be postponed due to new delimitations. "Our aim is that the elections should be held on time. This census does not require fresh delimitations," he added.
The digital census, he said, was controversial, adding that the Constitution does not say to conduct fresh delimitations after the census.
Meanwhile, party's Nayyar Bukhari said that the next CEC meeting will discuss the ECP huddle — set to take place on August 29.
"The judiciary can interpret the Constitution but it cannot rewrite it," Bukhari said, adding that only parliament has the right to make amendments to the Constitution.
