WITH the Council of Common Interests unanimously approving the 2023 census on Saturday, the possibility that general elections will not be held on time has grown stronger.

There had been an air of ambiguity surrounding the electoral time frame, because until recently, state functionaries had been saying that the 2017 numbers would be used as several parties had issues with the latest results.

In fact, just a day before the CCI decision, the PPP had strongly opposed using the census issue to delay the polls. However, the prime minister appears to have pulled a rabbit out of his hat during the CCI meeting, resulting in the approval of the 2023 head account.

While the census results merit a separate discussion, a key question arises about the election time frame. With the process of dissolving the National Assembly to begin on Wednesday, the caretaker administration will have a constitutionally mandated period of 90 days in which to hold the polls.

Yet with the approval of the 2023 census, the ECP will have to conduct fresh delimitations; various quarters say this process could mean that polls will not be held until early 2024. This would clearly violate the caretaker set-up’s legal mandate. Will the caretaker administration, therefore, operate in a constitutional limbo, just as the interim Punjab and KP governments have done ever since the elected legislatures in these provinces were dissolved in January? As things stand, that appears to be the case.

This paper has consistently argued that there should be no delay in holding the polls and that constitutional limits must be respected. However, it seems that political parties are barely concerned about constitutional imperatives, and are themselves willing to bend and break the rules when they want.

Pakistan has long suffered because of a lack of adherence to constitutional norms, and this grim tradition is being upheld by the outgoing government. Provisional census results were ready by May, and if the government had started deliberations then and notified the results earlier, the polls could have been held on time once the legislature was dissolved.

But it appears that the rulers, as well as the establishment, were not keen on holding timely polls lest the PTI made a strong showing. Now that the deed is done, all efforts must be made to hold elections as soon as possible. The ECP needs to complete the delimitation process within a reasonable period, and from thereon no further obstacles should be placed in the way of holding elections.

The only democratic solution to our protracted political and economic crises is for a freely elected civilian government with a fresh mandate to take the reins. The first step in that direction is the announcement of a clear time frame for conducting the polls.

Published in Dawn, August 7th, 2023