Aamir Qureshi—AFP
Rivals Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Thursday rejected the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP)’s decision to conduct fresh delimitations under the new census, demanding general elections be held within 90 days of the dissolution of the National Assembly.
Earlier in the day, the electoral body announced its schedule for fresh delimitations, spanning Aug. 17 through Dec. 14, suggesting general elections due in November—within 90 days of the dissolution of the National Assembly—will not be held this year. Earlier this month, the Council of Common Interests (CCI) “unanimously” approved the results of the 7th Population Census; this included the PPP-led Sindh government. The ECP is legally bound to conduct fresh delimitation after the CCI’s approval.
Despite its own government approving the census results, PPP spokesperson Faisal Karim Kundi said the party was demanding elections to be held as per the Constitution. “There is no constitutional requirement to do delimitations but there is constitutional requirement to hold elections within 90 days,” he added in a posting on Twitter.
The PTI also rejected the ECP’s delimitation schedule, announcing it would challenge the CCI’s decision in the Supreme Court. In a statement, the party claimed the electoral body’s schedule was “malicious and a clear deviation from the Constitution.” Noting the early dissolution of the National Assembly required that polls be held within 90 days, it alleged the schedule was a “criminal attempt” to prolong the tenure of the caretaker government in violation of the Constitution.
“In light of the decision of the Council of Common Interests, the formation of new constituencies cannot be used as a justification to escape election,” it said, adding that the role of the caretaker chief ministers of Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in the CCI meeting was a “major irregularity.”