No chance of delay in election: ECP

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday ruled out the possibility of a delay in the polls and assured that a schedule will be issued after the process of delimitation of constituencies is completed.

“After the publication of the delimitation of constituencies, the election schedule will be announced. There is no chance of a delay in the elections,” said a spokesperson in a statement.

The official added that all the preparations have been completed for the elections.

The spokesperson said that the first phase of the delimitation process has been completed and the second one will conclude once the objections to the preliminary delimitations are filed.

The official said the ECP would start hearing objections on the delimitation from October 30-31 and a final list will be published on November 30.

“The election schedule will be announced after the final publication of constituencies. There is no ambiguity in the Election Commission’s decisions.”

The ECP’s statement comes after President Dr Arif Alvi, a day earlier, said that he does not believe the general elections will take place in January next year, but at the same time, he called for the transparent polls when they are staged.

Political analysts have also raised concerns about a possible delay in the polls past January, with several noting that no political party seems in the “election mode”, while others mentioned that politicos have also cautioned about the “harsh weather” during winters that could hamper the polling process.

The country has been gripped in political uncertainty ever since the Imran Khan government was removed through a no-confidence motion in April 2022.

Read more: ECP invites int’l observers, media to monitor upcoming general elections

A coalition government that took over after Imran Khan’s ouster dissolved the National Assembly on August 9 of this year.

Following the premature dissolution of national and provincial assemblies, the ECP was required to hold elections within the 90-day time period, meaning the polls should take place no later than November 6.

However, the ECP said it was constitutionally bound to draw fresh boundaries ahead of the elections as the Council of Common Interest (CCI) had approved the census, hence holding elections within the stipulated time period was not possible.

Key political parties including Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), and others urged the ECP to hold polls at the earliest to end prevailing uncertainty in the country.

But in September the uncertainty ended to an extent after the Election Commission announced that it would hold polls in the country in the last week of January.

In the same month, the ECP also released the provisional report on the delimitation of constituencies based on the recently concluded census moving a step closer to the most sought-after general elections.