ECP gets over 1,300 objections on preliminary delimitation of constituencies

• ECP had extended deadline to file objections till October 27.
• A total of 1,324 objections received by ECP from across Pakistan.
• Out of total, most objections have been received from Punjab.

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has received 1,324 objections on preliminary delimitation of constituencies and will start hearing on the matter from November 1 at its headquarters, reported The News on Sunday.

The ECP had extended the deadline to file objections till 12 pm of October 27 for the convenience of the general public.

Out of the 1,324 objections from the provinces and federal capital, 672 were submitted in Punjab, 228 in Sindh, 293 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 124 in Balochistan and seven in Islamabad.

“A total of 1,324 objections have been submitted on which the Election Commission will start hearing from November 1, 2023. Benches have been constituted for hearing,” said the electoral watchdog. Notices have also been sent to the objectors for hearing on November 1 and 2. After the hearing, the final publication of the constituencies will be made on November 30.

To hear the objections two benches have been formed. The first bench will hold hearings on November 1 at 10am regarding objections about delimitation, concerning districts Islamabad, Shikarpur, Jacobabad, Kashmore, Sialkot, Khuzdar and Rajapur while the second bench will hold hearings on objections about Kurram, Khyber, Nankana Sahib, Attock, Jhelum, Kohat and Korangi.

According to the schedule for November 2, the first bench will hold a hearing concerning Malir, Sanghar, Swat, Haripur, Chakwal and Pishin, while the second bench will conduct a hearing about Mardan, Karachi East, Musa Khel, Lodhran, Noshero Feroz, Hub, Lasbela and Awaran.

Political analysts have raised concerns about a possible delay in the polls past January, with several noting that no political party seems in the "election mode", while others mentioned that politicos have also cautioned about the "harsh weather" during winters that could hamper the polling process.

The country has been gripped in political uncertainty ever since the Imran Khan government was removed through a no-confidence motion in April 2022.

A coalition government that took over after Imran Khan's ouster dissolved the National Assembly on August 9 of this year.

Following the premature dissolution of national and provincial assemblies, the ECP was required to hold elections within the 90-day time period, meaning the polls should take place no later than November 6.

However, the ECP said it was constitutionally bound to draw fresh boundaries ahead of the elections as the Council of Common Interest (CCI) had approved the census, hence holding elections within the stipulated time period was not possible.

Key political parties including Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), and others urged the ECP to hold polls at the earliest to end prevailing uncertainty in the country.

But in September the uncertainty ended to an extent after the Election Commission announced that it would hold polls in the country in the last week of January.

In the same month, the ECP also released the provisional report on the delimitation of constituencies based on the recently concluded census moving a step closer to the most sought-after general elections.