Election Commission of Pakistan Announces Elections Scheduled for the Final Week of January

On Thursday, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) disclosed its plan to hold the upcoming general elections during the final week of January 2024. In an official statement, the election commission revealed that it had conducted a review of the constituency delimitation process, determining that the preliminary list for constituency delimitation would be made public on September 27.

Subsequently, after considering objections and suggestions related to this process, the commission intends to release the final constituency delimitation list on November 30. The commission further elaborated that the election campaign program, spanning 54 days, would conclude with the elections taking place in the last week of January.

This announcement follows the ECP’s prior notification of a forthcoming meeting with political parties in the next month to engage in discussions concerning the code of conduct for the upcoming general elections.

According to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), a preliminary version of a code of conduct has been shared with political parties to gather their input before the regulations are finalized. The draft code dictates that views or actions detrimental to Pakistan’s ideology, sovereignty, integrity, security, public order, morality, independence of the judiciary, or government institutions, including the judiciary and armed forces, should not be promoted by political parties, candidates in the contest, or election agents.

The ECP has ruled out the possibility of holding elections within the current year, citing the necessity for a fresh delimitation of constituencies following the notification of the 2023 digital census results. According to Article 224 of the Constitution, elections must take place within 90 days of the National Assembly’s premature dissolution, which occurred three days before the end of its constitutional term, setting a deadline of November 7.

However, Section 17(2) of the Elections Act specifies that constituency delimitation is to be carried out after each official census is published. During recent discussions with the ECP, political parties expressed differing opinions on the timing of elections. Some emphasized the need for fresh delimitation, while others, notably the PTI and PPP, called for adhering to the constitutional timeframe for holding polls.

Meeting

In the meantime, President Alvi had invited Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja to a meeting to discuss setting an appropriate election date. The president invoked his duty to ensure elections within the mandated 90-day period following the premature dissolution of the National Assembly, citing Article 244 of the Constitution. However, a recent amendment to the Elections Act 2017 granted the ECP the authority to unilaterally announce election dates without presidential consultation.

In response to the president’s invitation, the CEC conveyed that the meeting held little significance in light of this legal change. Consequently, the president sought guidance from the law ministry, which clarified that the authority to announce the election date rested with the ECP.

Earlier this month, the president penned another letter to the CEC, proposing that elections be conducted by November 6, in accordance with constitutional requirements. This communication followed reports suggesting the president might unilaterally declare an election date. However, analysts noted that the letter constituted a suggestion rather than a formal declaration of the election date.