The official commission in charge of conducting elections in Pakistan has confirmed that the long-awaited national parliamentary elections will take place in the last week of January, confirming a two-month postponement and putting an end to doubt regarding the electoral process.
The Election Commission of Pakistan, ECP, defended the decision in a brief statement, saying it required more time to redraw countrywide constituencies following the most recent population census.
“The final list of the new constituencies will be published on November 30, and the elections will be held in the last week of January 2024 after a 54-day election program,” the ECP said, without giving the exact date for the vote.
According to the report, elections in Pakistan were scheduled to take place within 90 days after the previous parliament concluded its five-year term on August 9 and then-Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif disbanded his cabinet.
A caretaker administration, led by Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, has since been created to oversee the vote in the South Asian country of 241 million people.
Meanwhile, the ECP announcement comes as nuclear-armed Pakistan struggles to tackle deepening economic, political, and security challenges.
The political turmoil erupted in April 2022 when a parliamentary no-confidence motion removed then-Prime Minister Imran Khan from power.
The ousted Pakistani leader and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, PTI party have since been calling for early elections in the country, denouncing the no-confidence vote as illegal and accusing the politically powerful military of orchestrating it.
Thousands of PTI members, including senior leaders, have been arrested since a military-backed crackdown on the party began in May.
Report say Khan was convicted of controversial graft charges and sentenced to three years in jail early last month.
However, a high court suspended the sentence, but the 70-year-old former prime minister remains in custody over accusations of leaking contents of a classified diplomatic cable, known as a cipher, for political gains.
