Census fears and division within PDM

ISLAMABAD: There is a division within the ruling PDM government on the question of holding the upcoming general elections on the basis of a fresh population census.

After having been asked, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics on Monday formally forwarded its request to the Ministry of Planning to refer the results of the 2023 census to the Council of Common Interests (CCI) for approval. There was an understanding that the issue would be taken up by the CCI soon, possibly as early as on Aug 2.

However, things have slowed down apparently because of divisions within the PDM on the matter. Even the PML-N does not have one view on the issue. A senior official of the Planning Ministry, when approached by this correspondent on Tuesday, confirmed that the formal request of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (to place the census 2023 results before the CCI for approval) has been received by the ministry. The official also confirmed that the digital census 2023 is complete and its post-enumeration audit has also been done.

Now the consideration is to refer the case first to the Ahsan Iqbal-led Census Monitoring Committee and let the committee decide whether the census results be referred to the CCI or not. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in a recent interview with Geo’s Salim Safi had said that it was the constitutional obligation to refer the matter to the Council of Common Interests.

On Monday night, Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar, while talking in Geo’s Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Saath, said that in 2018, there was an agreement among all the political parties that the next elections would be held on the basis of the new census.

He said that the fairness demands to refer the census case to the CCI instead of pushing the matter under the rug. He said that if the Council of Common Interests approves the census, constituencies within the provinces can be changed, which will take six to eight weeks for the Election Commission of Pakistan. However, there is no possibility of an indefinite delay in the elections, he assured.

Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, however, recently said the government had decided not to notify the latest census and the upcoming elections would be held on the basis of the 2017 census. “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 previous census,” he said while speaking in Geo News show Naya Pakistan.

Asked if he meant the CCI would not notify the new census, Sanaullah had said the government would not be notifying the census as it had “issues”. Moreover, various stakeholders also had concerns over it, he added.

On the contrary, MQM, which is a ruling PDM’s coalition partner, has also demanded elections on the basis of correct population count. The PPP wants the election on time. It was even insisting on elections within 60 days of the completion of the present government’s term, ending on Aug 12th.

In case the Council of Common Interests approves the 2023 census result, the election will be delayed. Although, the law minister believes that the delay in such a case will not be beyond six to eight weeks, the Election Commission sources insist that the process of delimitation of constituencies on the basis of the fresh census will take four months.

It means the elections will be delayed for by four months at least. As per the Constitution, once the CCI approves the census, the general elections are bound to be held on the basis of fresh census.