The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday announced it will conduct general elections nationwide in the last week of January 2024.
In a statement, the electoral body said it had reviewed the ongoing delimitation of constituencies and decided that the initial list would be published on Sept. 27. “Following the resolution of any objections or suggestions regarding the initial delimitation list, the final list would be published on Nov. 30,” it said, in line with its earlier announcement of concluding the delimitation process by Nov. 30.
Following the publication of the final list of delimitations, read the statement, the 54-day election program would commence. Upon the program’s conclusion, it said, polls would occur in the final week of January 2024. While the electoral body did not specify a date, it is likely that polls would occur on Jan. 27 or Jan. 28 to avail the weekend.
A day earlier, the ECP had announced it was scheduling a meeting with political parties next month to discuss the code of conduct for general elections. It said a draft code of conduct had already been shared with political parties for their feedback, adding it would be finalized once all suggestions had been heard.
General elections were due to be held in November this year after the dissolution of the National Assembly last month, but the process was hampered by the last-minute approval of the digital census results by the outgoing PDM-led government. Following the publication of the census results, the ECP was bound to conduct fresh delimitation, with it initially announcing that process would conclude on Dec. 14. However, after criticisms from various political parties over the time required for delimitation, the electoral body squeezed the timeline, concluding it on Nov. 30.