ECP Speed Up Delimitation Process for ‘Timely Elections’
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has agreed to accelerate the process of redrawing electoral seats, with the objective of completing it by 30 November 2023.
The action is problematic because it violates the Constitution, which mandates that elections must be held within 90 days of the dissolution of the assembly. However, the ECP is attempting to assuage worries about more election delays.
The ECP indicated in a recent news release that it is reducing the delimitation timeline in order to hold elections as soon as feasible. It further said that the revised deadline will be taken into account while arranging the election timetable. Following talks with political parties, this conclusion was made.
Despite the fact that the Constitution’s 90-day term for conducting elections ends on November 9, the ECP had previously ruled out elections this year.
This was due to the impending publishing of the 2023 digital census findings, as well as Section 17(2) of the Elections Act, which requires constituency redrawing following the official publication of each census.
ECP had previously intended to complete the delimitation process by 14 December, more than a month after the legally mandated deadline for conducting general elections.
