By Tabbsum Riaz Ranjha | Reporter A1TV Pakistan
September 21, 2023 | Islamabad
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s Election Commission announced Thursday that the country’s general elections would be held in the last week of January 2024, ending weeks of uncertainty over when voters would return to the polls.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) did not announce an exact polling date but said elections would take place after completion of the ongoing delimitation of constituencies based on the latest census.
According to the commission’s schedule, the preliminary list of newly delimited constituencies was set to be published on September 27, allowing time for objections and suggestions. The final delimitation list was expected to be issued on November 30.
A 54-day election programme, covering nomination papers, scrutiny, appeals and campaigning, would then lead to polling in the final week of January.
The announcement came after the National Assembly was dissolved on August 9, bringing an early end to its five-year term and paving the way for a caretaker administration headed by Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar.
The election timetable had become a major political issue because the Constitution generally requires elections within 90 days when an assembly is dissolved before completing its term. However, notification of the results of Pakistan’s new digital census shortly before the dissolution prompted the ECP to undertake fresh delimitation of constituencies before holding the vote.
President Arif Alvi had earlier suggested November 6 as the constitutional deadline for elections, while political parties had pressed the Election Commission to clarify when voting would take place.
The ECP announcement provided the first clear timeframe for the national vote, although the absence of a specific polling date meant the detailed election schedule was still awaited.
Pakistan entered the election period amid intense political divisions following the removal of former Prime Minister Imran Khan through a parliamentary no-confidence vote in April 2022 and his subsequent legal battles and imprisonment.
The country was also confronting a severe economic crisis, high inflation, rising electricity and fuel prices and renewed militant violence as the caretaker government prepared the country for elections.
The Election Commission said the electoral process would proceed after completion of delimitation, setting Pakistan on course for general elections in late January 2024.