PPP opposes delimitation of constituencies by ECP

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Peoples Party, while opposing the delimitation of constituencies as announced by the Election Commission of Pakistan, has argued that the delimitation cannot be done on the basis of faulty and controversial population figures.

PPP Central Election Cell Incharge Senator Taj Haider said on Saturday that the Council of Common Interests had accepted that the figures obtained in the Census 2017 were incorrect and while validating the provisional figures in spite of Sindh’s dissenting vote ordered a fresh census which was to be concluded before December 31, 2022. He said it was an irony that the controversial part of the CCI decision was being followed and the agreed part of conducting a fresh census was being ignored with various excuses. “Such unfair tactics remain unwise and counterproductive. We have seen these give rise to more short-term and long-term problems and divisive controversies rather than amicably solving the existing problems,” he said.

He said the smart guys of the Federal Bureau of Statistics started with making an advisory group which did not include any demographer from Sindh. Next they came up with a clever working paper in which the faulty de jure counting method, which was the reason for rejecting the Census 2017, was repeated. “Various definitions and interpretations of this faulty method are now being given that further complicate the issue,” he said, adding that the bureau was trying to buy time and was now saying that a fresh census could not be completed before the date given by the CCI, thus compelling the ECP to use incorrect population figures.

Haider questioned if there was a single reason why the universal de facto method of counting population which was agreed upon by all political parties in an agreement signed before the passing of the 24th Amendment could not be used as this method counted citizens at the place where they were present on the day of the count and did not miss a single person. “How can the bureau explain the difference and undercount of almost 30% in its population figures and NADRA figures in Sindh? What makes them think that they can get away with this trickery,” he asked.

The PPP senator said they should realise that this time around, the protest was before the count and no one was waiting for the release of incorrect figures and undercounts. He informed that in a recent meeting chaired by the Sindh chief minister, in which bureau officials were present, Dr Mehtab Karim, an internationally-recognised demographer from Sindh, introduced a simple census questionnaire form based on designs used internationally. He said this questionnaire contained only 9 questions instead of 28 questions included in the form designed by the bureau. “In his opinion, there was hardly any problem in completing the fresh census before December 31, 2022 as specified in the CCI decision. Let us sit down and work out a step-by-step schedule for the same.”

He said action could not be delayed and Sindh should demand an immediate CCI meeting on the single point agenda of using the agreed de facto method of counting in the pilot project scheduled to be conducted by the Bureau of Statistics to ensure that the fresh census ordered by the CCI is a true reflection of the actual population and its distribution. “If the issue is yet to be settled, better settle it now rather than fighting over it after the damage is done,” he said.