ISLAMABAD, March 1: Chief Election Commissioner, Irshad Hasan Khan, has convened a meeting of the Election Commission on Monday to consider electoral boundaries.

Principles, as laid down in the Delimitation of Constituencies Act, 1974, provide that all constituencies, as far as practicable, shall be delimited, giving regard to the population distribution in the geographically compact areas.

The EC meeting would also take into account factors like existing boundaries of administrative units, facilities of communication and public con-venience to ensure homogeneity in the creation of constituencies.

The constituencies for election to the same assembly shall be equal among themselves in population.

The Chief Election Commissioner has emphasized that the principle of equality of population shall be followed as far as practicable in carving out the constituencies.

While doing so, he said, all possible care shall be taken to keep intact the administrative boundaries of districts, tehsils/taluka and qanungo-halqas/supervisory tapedar circles.

However, where bifurcation of tehsils/talukas and qanungo-halqas/supervisory tapedar circles has become inevitable, efforts shall be made to keep intact the patwari circles/tapedar circles.

After a preliminary report and list of constituencies by the EC is published in the official gazette, any person entitled to vote as elector to the National Assembly or provincial assembly shall have “statutory right” to make a representation to the EC in respect of delimitation of constituencies within 15 days of the publication of the preliminary report.

The EC, after hearing and considering the representations, if any, may make amendments, alterations or modifications in the preliminary list published in the official gazette.

Thereafter, if the EC thought it fit or necessary, will publish in the official gazette the final report and list of constituencies, showing the areas included in each constituency to ensure impartiality, objectivity, fairness and transparency at every stage of the electoral process.—APP