Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has summoned a meeting of the Council of Common Interests (CCI) tomorrow (Saturday) to review the results of the digital census ahead of the dissolution of the National Assembly next week.
Chaired by the prime minister, the meeting will include the participation of the chief ministers of all four provinces, as well as relevant federal ministers. Earlier, the Planning and Development Ministry had proposed convening the CCI meeting for approval of the country’s first-ever digital Population and Housing Census—a key demand of several government allies ahead of general elections.
During the meeting, per sources, the provinces will present their stance on the digital census. It is likely that the interim governments of Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa would approve it, as would Balochistan. However, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)-led Sindh might play the role of spoiler, as the party has made it clear it does not wish for polls to be delayed due to the delimitation exercise that must ensue after the census results have been validated. Sindh has also, reportedly, faced the most issues with the census, with opposition parties alleging undercounting in Karachi and over-counting in the province’s rural areas.
There are concerns, however, of the legitimacy of the caretaker setups in representing their provinces for the approval of census results and determining alternations to the National Finance Commission Award.
However, earlier this week, the prime minister told a journalist that he believed the next general elections should be conducted as per the new census. To a question on polls being delayed if they are conducted under the new census, he claimed he did not believe it would have an impact. Officials of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), who have made clear that they would require three to four additional months for delimitation prior to conducting elections, do not support this view. This could, potentially, lead to elections not occurring until early next year, rather than their scheduled date in November.
Legal experts have noted the government lacks the numbers to introduce a constitutional amendment necessary to expand seats in the National Assembly, adding it is likely the delimitation exercise would be limited to provincial assemblies.
The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) completed the country’s first-ever digital population census and compiled its results, submitting them to the CCI for final approval prior to publication. According to sources, the results show the country’s population has increased to between 240 and 250 million, with significant boosts to the population of Balochistan.