ECP directed to carve out two National Assembly constituencies 'afresh'

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A general view of the Islamabad High Court. — Geo News

ISLAMABAD: As the much-awaited general elections draw near, the latest directive for the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) came from the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to carve out two National Assembly (NA) constituencies again.

With the ballot's date nearing, various issues related to general elections — set to take place on February 8, 2024 — grow amid efforts to stage free and fair polls.

The order for fresh delimitation of NA-35 and NA-36, of Kohat district came during the hearing of an appeal on the electoral watchdog's notification of the said constituencies.

The bench headed by IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq declared said constituencies void after hearing arguments from the appellant and ECP.

The petitioner maintained that according to sections of the Election Act 2017, the population of all constituencies should be homogeneous, and the demographic variation between two or more constituencies should not ordinarily exceed 10%.

He contended that the new constituencies carved out by the ECP would violate the area locals' right to vote due to the difference in populations.

While announcing the decision, the court set aside the ECP's notification of the two constituencies. It referred the matter back to the polls governing body, directing it to revisit the issue in light of the appellant's stance.

"[...] decision of ECP to the extent of Constituencies NA-35 & NA-36 is set aside and the matter is referred back to the ECP, which shall decide the issue afresh after hearing everyone concerned," the short order issued by the IHC stated.

The national polls governing body had notified the final list of delimitation of constituencies of the national and four provincial assemblies last month, for the elections slated for February 8, 2024.

In its notification, the ECP said that according to Article 51(3) of the Constitution, the National Assembly consists of 266 general seats, with 60 seats reserved for women and additionally 10 for non-Muslims.

The development paved the way for the announcement of the election schedule, which was expected during the first week of December as announced by the ECP, but is yet to be announced, with a Lahore High Court order further complicating the issue.

Provincial high court's Justice Ali Baqir Najafi had Wednesday night ruled on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) plea, suspending the ECP's notification requesting returning officers (ROs) and district returning officers (DROs) from the bureaucracy for the general elections slated for February 8, 2024.