CCI: Latest census ratification sets stage for election delay

ISLAMABAD: The Council of Common Interests (CCI) has given its approval to the 2023 digital census results on Saturday, a move that may likely postpone the general elections this year due to the requirement of fresh delimitation, which could take several months.

According to Dawn.com, various ruling allies, including the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), had previously opposed holding the upcoming general elections based on the new census but now they have maintained a silence over the development.

The reports said that although Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar claimed that the new census results were approved, but the government-allied Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) boycotted the CCI meeting, stating its rejection of the council’s decision. The BNP-M has announced its intention to disclose its future course of action on Sunday.

Read more: CCI meets tomorrow: likely to approve 2023 Digital Census

Meanwhile, concerns have arisen that the approval of the new census might delay the elections due to the necessity of conducting new delimitation, which would require a constitutional amendment. However, Tarar said that no such amendment was necessary, citing Article 51 of the Constitution, which mandates allocating National Assembly seats to administrative units based on the last preceding census officially published.

The Council of Common Interest (CCI) meeting on Saturday August 5, 2023, unanimously approved the results of the first ever #DigitalCensus2023. #PakPBS #DigitalCensusPk #Census2023 pic.twitter.com/nCE0AQkVQ3

— Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (@PBSofficialpak) August 5, 2023

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the ruling allies have agreed to dissolve assemblies on August 9, three days before the government’s term expires, triggering a constitutional requirement to hold elections within 90 days, as reported by Dawn.com.

As per the reports, the CCI meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, was attended by Chief Ministers from Sindh, Balochistan, and Punjab, along with KP caretaker CM through a video link. Other prominent attendees included Senate Chairman, political leaders, and federal ministers.

Following the meeting, the law minister said that provinces had reservations about the old census, and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) would determine the timeline for completing delimitation based on the new census data.

The reports stated that the MQM-P leaders hailed the approval of the new census as their party’s success, with Convener Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui saying that they had fulfilled promises made to the people of Karachi regarding census inclusion.

Meanwhile, the PPP, previously critical of holding elections based on the new census, did not immediately reacted to the CCI’s approval.