Top court directs ECP to ensure transparent delimitation process

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial directed the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday to complete the delimitation process of new constituencies based on the 2023 census for upcoming polls with transparency. The Supreme Court was hearing a case pertaining to the delimitation of three provincial constituencies in Sindh's Shikarpur District. The two-member bench reverted the matter back to the ECP. During the hearing, the CJP inquired as to when the federal electoral body planned to hold general elections. When ECP Law DG Muhammad Arshad shrugged his shoulders in response, the CJP observed that this implied no date had been set yet for the upcoming polls. Justice Bandial remarked that the demarcation of constituencies is a matter of public interest. He noted that the matter of delimitations has come before the courts several times. Read ECP mulls delimitations issue today "If the dotted delimitation circles are altered even slightly, it affects the votes received by candidates running from the constituency in question," he said, stressing that the ECP must ensure a transparent process while carrying out this work. "The delimitation of constituencies in Sindh is a more sensitive matter. There are frequent complaints from the province that the demarcations were not correctly done. The ECP should resolve all such matters before the upcoming polls," remarked CJP Bandial. Demarcations of PS-7 Shikarpur-1, PS-8 Shikarpur-II and PS-9 Shikarpur-III were challenged in the apex court. Former Sindh minister Imtiaz Ahmed Shaikh of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), former member of provincial assembly Muhammad Shaharyar Khan Mahar of the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) and former Sindh Assembly speaker Agha Siraj Durrani of the PPP were elected from these constituencies, respectively, in the 2018 elections. Referring the matter back to the ECP, the apex court adjourned the hearing.    

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