‘Polls under 2023 census not possible before five months’

ISLAMABAD: Federal Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar on Saturday claimed that it will take more than five months to hold elections on the basis of the 2023 digital census.

Talking exclusively to a TV channel, Tarar said a meeting of the Council of Common Interest (CCI) headed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had decided to hold the upcoming general election in the county as per the results of the 2023 census.

As per Article 51 of the Constitution, the general elections for the national and provincial assemblies will be conducted as per the limits of the constituencies published by the Commission, he added.

The law minister said the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is to complete the delimitation process within an outer limit 120 days. However, it is the prerogative of the ECP as when they start the process.

He maintained that the census 2023 results show that provinces’ share in the general seats of the National Assembly will not change in the next elections.

The outer limit of 120 days can be reduced by effective work, the law minister said, adding that 54 more days are required for the general elections. The entire process should not go beyond 150 to 165 days, he clarified. The law minister said that all eight members of the CCI agreed on holding the upcoming elections on the basis of Census 2023.