Pakistan general elections to be held in last week of January 2024

General elections in Pakistan will be held in the last week of January 2024, the ECP announced on Thursday.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in a statement said it reviewed work on delimiting constituencies and decided that the initial list for the delimitation of constituencies would be published on 27 September.

The commission further informed that the final list would be issued on 30 November after hearing objections and suggestions regarding the exercise.

It said the elections will be held in the last week of January following the completion of a 54-day election campaign programme.

The National Assembly of Pakistan dissolved prematurely on 9 August, however, its tenure was set to conclude on 12 August, 2023.

As per the rules, general elections in Pakistan are scheduled to be held within 90 days after the dissolution of the National Assembly.

Just before the end of its term, the previous government in Pakistan announced that the elections could take place only after a new census was completed and new constituency boundaries were drawn.

The early dissolution of the national assembly had triggered fears that the polls meant to be held within 90 days may be delayed till next year as the delimitation process would take about four months to complete.

The decision to shorten the timeframe of the delimitation comes amid mounting pressure on the ECP from several political parties that pressed for timely elections.

The Constitution also provides that the ECP should complete the delimitation process within 120 days.

With inputs from agencies