Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday said general elections should be held as per the digital census conducted earlier this year, saying he does not see any obstacles to this.
In an interview with journalist Asma Shirazi, broadcast on Aaj TV, he emphasized that elections must be held on the basis of the new census once it had been completed. “When a census has been conducted, the [polls] should be held on its basis unless there is an obstacle that cannot be overcome. But I don’t see [any such hurdle],” he said.
Clarifying that as soon as results were consolidated, they would be presented before the Council of Common Interests (CCI) as per legal requirements, Sharif rubbished the impression that this could lead to a delay in polls, as it was the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP)’s job to ensure timely elections. However, the ECP has already stated that if the new census results are notified, it would need to carry out a fresh delimitation exercise, adding this could delay polls.
Legal experts have said that if the number of seats allocated to every province in the National Assembly are altered on the basis of population, a constitutional amendment would be required. However, they had added, if the delimitation is restricted to provincial assemblies, no amendment would be required.
Sharif’s statement is likely to anger some members of the ruling coalition, especially the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), which has repeatedly stated that no steps should be taken that could potentially delay elections. However, other coalition partners such as the Muttahida Qaumi Movement have demanded that delimitation be done under the new census results before elections.
During his interview, the prime minister also reiterated that the National Assembly would be dissolved before it completes its constitutional tenure on Aug. 12. On the caretaker setup, he said he approach Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Raja Riaz on the matter after completing consultations with coalition partners and Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) leader Nawaz Sharif. “I hope the opposition leader and I will reach consensus on a non-controversial caretaker prime minister,” he said. “If the matter is not decided in seven days, the names will go to the chief election commissioner,” he added.
Sharif also weighed in on the massive hike in fuel prices announced by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar—the last such announcement of this government—that has attracted backlash from the general public. Stressing that international prices of fuel were outside the government’s control, the prime minister regretted that they had soared as the government was nearing the end of its term.
Emphasizing that there was no option but to increase the prices at this stage, he added: “Who wants to waste their political mileage, but this was a matter of the state. It is a condition of the IMF agreement, we cannot give subsidies except the ones mentioned in the budget,” he said.