The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday announced that the next general elections would be held in the last week of January 2024. Pakistani news website Dawn quoted the ECP as saying that the delimitation procedure is expected to be completed soon and the initial list will be published by September 27.
The election body will take the suggestions and objections and publish the final list by November 30. After that, the 54-day campaigning would start, which will be followed by the general election. The election commission's announcement comes ahead of its meeting with all the political parties next month to discuss the final code of conduct for the election. A draft on the code of conduct has already been shared with the parties for their feedback.
According to the ECP draft, parties, candidates, and election agents cannot share views or engage in activities that "undermine the principles of Pakistan, its sovereignty, integrity, or security, as well as morality, public order, and the autonomy and impartiality of Pakistan's judiciary". It also restricts any action that defame or mock government institutions, including the judiciary and armed forces.
The ECP postponed the elections this year, citing the necessity to conduct a fresh delimitation exercise in constituencies after the 2023 digital census.
Article 224 of the Constitution of Pakistan mandates that elections take place within 90 days of the assembly's dissolution, which meant that the polls had to be conducted no later than November 7. However, Section 17(2) of the Elections Act states that the commission must perform constituency delimitation after every official census.
During the recent consultations with the ECP, political parties adopted varying stances on the election timing. While some demanded fresh delimitation, others batted for adhering to the constitutional timeframe for holding elections. Among those seeking fresh delimitation was Imran Khan's PTI.
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