ONE key factor while considering electoral reforms is the issue of delimitation of constituencies.

Too often, accusations of gerrymandering have emerged challenging the validity of delimitation of certain constituencies. Hence the calls for fresh delimitations before the 2018 general elections made by lawmakers and civil society at a recent event in Islamabad make sense.

Amongst the suggestions was to take the size of a constituency into consideration along with its population when carrying out delimitation. For example, federal minister Abdul Qadir Baloch said his constituency in Balochistan was so geographically vast that it was difficult for him to touch base with the voters. Another participant suggested that there should be a geographical limit to the size of a constituency.

As per data shared by the Free and Fair Election Network, the delimitation of National Assembly constituencies was “highly skewed”, while there was considerable variation even within regions. For example, Battagram in KP, which has just over 400,000 people, and Lower Dir, also in KP, which is home to around one million people, have only one member respectively in the National Assembly. Experts also point out that Balochistan and Fata are particularly under-represented in the Assembly.

With polls scheduled for 2018, there is plenty of time to delimit fresh constituencies in an equitable manner if the state starts the process now.

Firstly, the Election Commission must listen to all voices: political parties, civil society, experts and members of the public must all have a chance to give their points of view on the redrawing of constituencies along fairer lines. Over-representation and under-representation must be avoided so that all regions have a more equal say in parliament and lawmakers have a better chance to keep in touch with the electorate.

However, while political parties must be consulted in the process, it is important for the delimitation exercise to be seen as apolitical and impartial to prevent new controversies from cropping up.

And while it would be ideal for fresh census numbers to be available when redrawing the electoral boundaries — the final census data is not expected to be in till the end of 2017 if all goes according to plan — some experts suggest that delimitation can also proceed on the basis of available data.

The goal should be to give equal representation to all federating units and it would be welcome if the process were to begin as soon as possible.

Published in Dawn, January 9th, 2016