General Elections Schedule
ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan is likely to announce the election schedule today. The Commission has convened an emergency meeting after holding discussions with various stakeholders.
In this pivotal meeting, Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja is expected to discuss methods to expedite the delimitation process.
The ECP has recently conducted consecutive meetings with leaders from different political parties to assess their stance on elections and delimitation.
A day earlier, the Commission pledged to accelerate the delimitation of constituencies. Subsequently, the ECP would unveil a schedule for the forthcoming general elections. It will alleviate concerns of a potential indefinite delay to extend the interim government’s rule.
The ECP officials assured delegations from the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), and Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) in separate consultative meetings at the ECP Secretariat in the federal capital.
These meetings took place in the context of the ECP’s dismissal of elections taking place this year.
Earlier this week, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics furnished the necessary data for the digital census of 2023 to the election supervisory body.
The FBS teams conducted the digital census from March to May this year. The Council of Common Interest (CCI) has approved the results of the census on August 5.
Now, the ECP is obligated to conduct the upcoming general elections based on the latest census data.
Former Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif dissolved the National Assembly on August 9, three days before its mandated tenure concluded. The Constitution grants the ECP a 90-day window to hold elections, which expires on November 9.
On August 17, the election supervisor declared plans to revamp all national and provincial assembly constituencies in line with the digital census within 120 days.
