The date of the general elections need not be announced right away, according to a top ECP official, as there is still time till September 12. Another official pointed out that the ECP might extend this deadline until September 20.
These experts recommended that the ECP contact the Supreme Court right away to ask for advice on how to hold elections within the 90-day window following the approval of the digital census.
After the Council of Common Interest (CCI) approved the seventh digital census on August 5, sources said that the ECP had begun informal negotiations with legal experts over the constituency delimitation procedure.
The general elections cannot be held by November due to ECP's decision to carry out the delimitation procedure based on the new digital census.
In the past, Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provinces did not hold elections within the required 90 days, and an interim government has remained in place in both provinces to this day.
Imran Khan, the leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), dissolved the legislatures in the hopes that it would compel the federal government to call early elections. This, however, did not take place.
The date for the delimitation's final publication is December 12, 2023, under the schedule made known through a notification. This demonstrates that elections won't be held within the required 90 days under the constitution. It stated, "In accordance with Official Results of 7th Population and Housing Census-2023, and in accordance with Article 51 of the constitution and Section 17(2) of the Election Act of 2017, the ECP has authorized the schedule for completing the pision of the electoral districts afresh."
In a recent decision, Justice Munib Akhtar argues that the ECP should ask the supreme court for assistance if the executive branch prevents it from carrying out its constitutional responsibility under Article 220—ensuring free and fair elections.
0 Comments