Because the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) lowered the representation of newly combined districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) from 12 to six in the new delimitation under the 2023 census, the size of the National Assembly has fallen from 342 to 336.
On Wednesday, the ECP announced the updated list of national and provincial assembly districts, reflecting recent redistricting efforts. With the K-P’s support dropping to 45 from 51 in 2018, there would be 266 general seats in the lower chamber of parliament.
There were originally 12 National Assembly seats allotted to the newly amalgamated districts after the 25th Constitutional Amendment combined the former Federally-Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) with K-P in 2018, but that number has since been cut to six.
According to the preliminary ECP report, the current distribution of seats among the provinces would be maintained. In the National Assembly, Punjab will have 141 seats, Sindh will have 51, Balochistan will have 16, and Islamabad will have 3.
The ECP also disclosed information regarding provincial assembly districts, revealing that there will be a total of 297 seats in the Punjab Assembly, 130 in the Sindh Assembly, 115 in the K-P Assembly, and 51 in the Balochistan Assembly.
According to the ECP, there are around 907,000 people living in the federal capital’s constituency alone, 905,595 in Punjab, 913,000 in Sindh, and 930,000 in Balochistan. A total of 355,000 people in K-P, 429,000 in Punjab, and 428,000 in Sindh would make up each provincial assembly constituency.
According to the ECP, there are not enough people living in 10 different districts in K–P to justify allocating one seat to them in the National Assembly. A National Assembly seat was also allotted to Murree at the expense of Rawalpindi.
Punjab
The combined total of Gujranwala and Hafizabad districts is six, as stated in the report. There are still two National Assembly seats up for grabs in Jhelum, ten in Faisalabad, fourteen in Lahore, six in Multan, and four in Rahimyar Khan.
Together, the districts of Rawalpindi and Murree account for 7 of the total. By merging Chakwal and Talagang, two seats have been saved, but four from Muzaffargarh, five from Bahawalpur, and two from Lodhran remain.
K-P
To form a single National Assembly district, Chitral Upper and Chitral Lower were combined. Mansehra and Targhar have been amalgamated into one constituency, and Kohistan Upper, Lower, and Kolai Palash have all been consolidated into one seat.
South Waziristan and North Waziristan have also been consolidated into one constituency, whereas Hangu and Orakzai have been combined into two.
Sindh
There is a shift in Sindh’s representation in the National Assembly as a result of the new delimitation. There are now four National Assembly seats representing the areas of Jacobabad, Kashmore, and Shikarpur.
One of Sanghar’s National Assembly seats was cut, leaving the district with only two representatives. With the addition of this seat, Karachi South now has three representatives. Karachi’s total increase from 21 to 22 seats is significant as well.
The provincial assembly districts have also been redistricted as part of the new delimitation. Khairpur, Sanghar, and Thatta have all lost one seat apiece. This results in a decrease from seven to six seats for Khairpur in the provincial assembly, five for Sanghar, and two for Thatta.
On the other hand, Malir, East, and Central districts of Karachi have all received one additional seat. There will now be six seats available in Malir, nine in Karachi East, and eight in Karachi Central.
Request for Rebuttal
The constituencies’ preliminary report was made public on the ECP website. Each constituency is mapped and detailed in the report. Before October 26th, voters in the relevant district can file objections to the report’s preliminary findings. From October 28 until November 26, the ECP would deliberate on the appeals.
The ECP spokeswoman insisted that the organisation would not consider courier, fax, or postal objections. They should be communicated in a memorandum to the ECP secretary.
Either the voter or a representative appointed by the voter will sign the memorandum and submit it to the ECP Secretariat.
In order to submit objections to the ECP, eight copies of the maps must be provided.
On November 30 we will announce the final lists. Elections will be held in the last week of January 2024, as previously declared by the ECP.
Meanwhile, the ECP’s district maps may be had for a “nominal fee” here.