After appropriately reducing duration of delimitation process, the announcement of immediate elections would be ensured: CEC

ISLAMABAD, August 30 (SABAH): The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) held three consultative meetings on Wednesday with various political parties. The first meeting involved a delegation from the Awami National Party (ANP), followed by the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), and finally the Balochistan National Party (BNP) at the ECP Secretariat in Islamabad.

These sessions were scheduled at 11:00 AM, 2:00 PM, and 3:00 PM respectively. The meetings were chaired by the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), Dr. Sikandar Sultan Raja. Members of the Election Commission, Secretary ECP and other senior officers also attended the meetings.

Representatives from the Awami National Party, Mian iftikhar Hussain, Zahid Khan, Khushdil Khan, and Abdul Rahim Wazir attended the meeting. The Balochistan Awami Party was represented by Nasibullah, Manzoor Kakar, Noor Muhammad Dummar, and Sardar Abdul Rahman Khetran. Balochistan National Party’s representation included Abdul Kareem Nosherwani, Ms. Sana Jamali, and Danish Kumar.

Awami National Party’s delegation briefed the Commission that elections should be held within 90 days as per the constitution. Election Commission should have consulted with political parties before starting the delimitation process. Because according to the constitution, the Commission cannot increase or decrease the seats in the provincial assemblies. Therefore, there was no need for new delimitation. The Election Commission can only adjust seats within the province. They mentioned that the Election Commission is a constitutional body and they have complete confidence in it. Hence, the decision made by the Commission regarding delimitation would have been well thought out. Now, the announcement of the election date and schedule should be made so that political parties and the general public can be assured.

The Chief Election Commissioner stated that the delimitation process, according to the ongoing schedule of the Election Commission, will be completed by December 14, 2023, and within 120 days. The Election Commission intends to further reduce the duration of the delimitation process and will announce the election schedule immediately thereafter. It is also possible that after reducing the duration of the delimitation process in the coming days, the election schedule might be announced simultaneously.

The delegation from the Balochistan Awami Party endorsed the Election Commission’s new delimitation decisions. BAP members stated that since the census results have been published, there is no need to carry out new delimitation, as it could lead to discrepancies with political parties, candidates, and the public. They recommended that a fair and transparent delimitation and unbiased elections be ensured.

Furthermore, they emphasized that before announcing the election schedule following delimitation, the seasonal effects in different parts of the country should be considered, so that candidates and voters do not face difficulties during the elections. They praised the Chief Election Commissioner and the Election Commission’s performance, expressing their complete trust in their abilities. The Balochistan Awami Party expressed complete confidence in the Election Commission, based on past decisions as well.

Representative Agha Hassan Baloch from the Balochistan National Party expressed full confidence in the Election Commission and suggested that elections should be held within 90 days. He noted that the recent census results were not accurate, showing a lower population count for Balochistan. Therefore, his party believes that new delimitation would not be beneficial. However, if the Election Commission deems delimitation necessary, it should be correctly carried out for all constituencies, including those where delimitation was previously done inaccurately.

The Chief Election Commissioner assured the delegations that after appropriately reducing the duration of the delimitation process, the announcement of immediate elections would be ensured with full transparency and in accordance with the constitution and laws.