A delay in the conduct of the next general election by several months is almost certain now as the ECP is now constitutionally mandated to undertake fresh delimitation of National Assembly electoral constituencies based on new census numbers, which takes several months.
By Muhammad Ali
ISLAMABAD: The authorities officially announced the results of the 7th population and housing census Saturday after a high-powered inter-provincial body gave its nod to the numbers in an unexpected display of unity achieved by the ruling Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) coalition.
Notably, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) made its official announcement of census results over the weekend, when the federal government is closed for business, after the Council of Common Interest (CCI) approved the results in its 50th meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and attended by by Chief Ministers from all Provinces.
After the census approval by the CCI, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is constitutionally obliged to conduct the coming general election after fresh delimitation of electoral constituencies for the National Assembly based on new census numbers.
The ECP has already said the exercise will take several months. It is therefore certain that the next general election will be delayed by several months, likely allowing the coming caretaker government to stay in power beyond its usual constitutional mandate of 60 or 90 days.
The announcement said the census counted 241.49 million people across Pakistan, reflecting a population growth rate of 2.55 percent. The exercise began March 1, 2023 and took 18 months to complete.
Of the 241.49 million counted by the new census, 40.85 million live in KP, 127.68 million in Punjab, 55.69 million in Sindh, 14.89 million in Balochistan, and 2.36 million in the Islamabad Capital Territory.
Balochistan led the country in population growth scoring an annual growth rate of 3.2 percent, followed by ICT at 2.81 percent and Sindh at 2.57 percent. Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa scored below the national average of 2.55 percent, respectively posting 2.53 percent and 2.48 percent growth.
Census data provides the basis for allotment of resources between provinces, districts, and other administrative divisions. As well, it underpins the apportionment of electoral power between provinces as constituencies of National Assembly are based on population.
The images below show the PBS announcement of the census results .
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