ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Vice President Senator Sherry Rehman has urged the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to duly announce the date of general elections in line with the provisions of Article 224 of the Constitution, The News reported.
“Our Constitution binds the Election Commission of Pakistan to conduct general elections within 90 days of the dissolution of the National Assembly, however, there is no constitutional requirement for conducting delimitation,” Rehman said, calling upon the ECP to announce the election date to fulfill the constitutional obligation.
It may be noted that the former federal minister had endorsed on PPP’s behalf, the election under the new census in the Council of Common Interests (CCI) meeting after it was agreed that the existing seats will not be changed.
Despite legitimate concerns over the digital census, they agreed to hold the general elections based on the new census.
“Since there will be no change in the existing national and provincial seats, the process of delimitation should be completed quickly,” she said.
The ex-federal minister said the Constitution obliges the electoral body to hold general elections within 90 days of the dissolution of the National Assembly.
While in a joint statement, PPP senators Waqar Mehdi and Palwasha Khan said that holding general elections within 90 days is a constitutional requirement and the ECP is responsible for fulfilling this constitutional requirement.
They said the delimitation of constituencies is not a constitutional obstacle that would defer the elections within 90 days. Not holding the general elections within the said period will be a violation of the Constitution. “We just have to follow the Constitution,” they declared.
After the poll organising authority announced that the general elections will not be held in the next three months due to the constitutional obligation of carrying out fresh delimitations, PPP expressed deep concerns over the delay in the electoral process.
On Thursday, the ECP announced the schedule of new delimitations to be carried out as per the new census approved by the CCI earlier this month, which showed that fresh delimitation will take nearly four months.
The senators of PPP said that ECP’s decision to defer the polls was “unconstitutional” as it is bound to hold elections within 90 days.
In response, former interior minister Rana Sanaullah Khan said that the party was aware of the fact that the polls will be deferred while consenting to the approval of the census in the meeting of the CCI.
The Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) leader said that the CCI decided to notify the census with the consensus of all stakeholders including the PPP.
He said that all parties had agreed on the point that only one election (2018) was held on the basis of the 2017 census and now it is the constitutional obligation to hold elections as per the new census.
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