Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Tuesday that the upcoming general election would be held in the country based on the new digital census and at the same time dismissed suggestions that it would lead to a delay in the polls.
“Have to go in the elections based on new census. There has been a census [2023] so the polls should be based on it,” he said during an interview with a private news channel.
The premier added that he would summon a meeting of the Council of Common Interests (CCI) — a body which includes chief ministers of all provinces — once the country results of the census come in.
On the polls, PM Shehbaz said: “It is the Election Commission’s responsibility and they will hold elections.” He, however, maintained that there is no reason for a delay in the election.
The PM also said that the PDM government’s tenure would be completed on August 12 but his government will go before completing its stipulated time.
The statement is contrary to what Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah had said during Geo News’ show “Naya Pakistan” last month.
“The Council of Common Interests has to complete its term. If this new census is not notified by then, the elections will be held based on the previous census and delimitation,” he said. “The government has decided it will not notify this [new census] and when the assemblies will be dissolved after completing their terms, the Election Commission of Pakistan will be bound to conduct the elections on the basis of the previous census.”
When asked if he meant the CCI would not notify the new census, Sanaullah said the government would not be notifying the census as it had “issues”.
The PM’s statement would also ease his allies, especially the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P).
Addressing a press conference, MQM-P Convener Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui — whose party is a stakeholder in the government — said the population of Karachi is around 30 million, which was about 14.9 million in the 2017 census, and his party would not accept figures less than this.
The MQM-P senior leader vowed to resist the move after the interior minister had announced that the government would not notify the recently concluded census as the results are not authentic and the ECP needs at least four months to complete the delimitation process.
