By Abid Ali Narejo
By releasing its preliminary delineation of constituencies based on the 2023 census, THE Election Commission has taken a first official step towards the postponed general election.
This is ECP’s method of letting voters know whose seats in the national and provincial assembly they would be supporting in the future elections, particularly individuals who are unfamiliar with the nuances of the electoral process.
The manner in which the delimitation was carried out may not seem to be a major concern to citizens.
The way the ECP has divided its constituencies, however, can have a major impact on poll findings when seen from a macro perspective, with an eye on the demographics, ethnicities, cultures, and spoken languages that constitute each constituency. A few lines here or there can split a party’s support and determine whether they win or lose a seat.
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In order to avoid further postponing elections past the ECP’s deadline of the last week of January, what happens next needs to be handled wisely and fast.We do know that there have been some significant changes, with seats taken away from some districts and added to others, and parts of different districts merged together to form new constituencies. However, it is still very early to determine how fairly the delimitation exercise has been conducted by the ECP.
It should be anticipated that certain significant stakeholders may protest these modifications because they are unhappy with them. The ECP has asked the populace for feedback on their concerns with the new delimitations so that it can make any necessary revisions to its determinations.
But there’s a significant probability that some cases will still end up in court, which would mess up the election timeframe that the ECP has established.
It is hoped that the ECP was mindful of this potential during the exercise and strictly adhered to the prescribed guidelines while defining constituency boundaries.
It is expected of the ECP that it completes the exercise in a way that minimizes the possibility of its delimitation decisions becoming a reason for further delay, given that the ‘necessity’ of conducting a fresh delimitation has been the core of its justification to violate the 90-day deadline for polls set out in the Constitution.
Where concerned citizens, CSOs, and politicians still have legitimate concerns about how their constituencies have been defined, they must take swift action, follow the established procedure to file complaints, and be ready to fully defend their claims whenever those concerns are raised by others.Both parties’ stakeholders must make sure that this procedure is performed equitably and without unnecessary delays.
