ECP summons session to finalise arrangements for delimitation

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has summoned a session on December 22 to finalise arrangements for delimitation of constituencies, a day after the Senate finally passed the Constitution Amendment Bill, 2017 paving the way for delimitation of electoral constituencies on the basis of population census.

With the Senate’s approval removing the obstruction to the holding of the next general elections according to schedule, the ECP has started preparations to finalise the arrangements and has summoned a session of chief secretaries on Friday in this regard, sources said.

According to sources, the ECP has already completed the initial work required to carry out the process of delimitation. The Commission has also directed the chief secretaries to bring maps prepared by the Revenue Department with them to the meeting.

On Tuesday, the Senate passed the amendment bill on delimitation of constituencies with two-thirds majority, clearing the hurdle for the ECP to hold next year’s general elections on time.

All majority parties voted in support of the constitutional amendment except for the Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q), which voted against it. 

After the passage of the constitutional amendment from the upper house of the parliament, it would be sent for approval from President Mamnoon Hussain to make it part of the Constitution.

The amendment bill remained stuck in the Senate after its passage from the National Assembly last month, as the majority opposition party in the House, PPP, had expressed its reservations on the provisional results of the population census and demanded a third-party validation of 5 per cent blocks.