2023 general elections to be held under new census: Asad

KARACHI: Federal Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives Asad Umar announced on Saturday that the 2023 general elections will be held under a new census.

Criticising the Sindh government, Umar said, "The Sindh government had collected all the census data themselves, however, they still protested." The minister stated that for the "first time in [Pakistan's] history, the census would be conducted using technology". The census would begin in September and would be conducted during a period of 18 months. He said that the federal government has provided vaccines worth more than Rs10 billion for Karachi, however, the provincial government has so far failed to provide a single dose of the vaccine. Announcing good news for Karachiites, the federal minister revealed that the Green Line will be opened for the people next month.

In April, the federal government approved the official release of the Census-2017 results which had been withheld for the last couple of years. Umar had said, "Since elections are held based on the census, we will begin preparations for the next census in September or October this year." "We will complete the new census by March 23," Umar had announced. "The government will also form constituencies based on the new census data before the general elections of 2023." While Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had insisted on releasing the census data, Sindh demanded the census be held anew in the province so that the consolidated data could be released together.