In a major development, the Pakistan Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) announced the dates of the general elections on Thursday. According to the statement released by the ECP, it would be held in the last week of January 2024.
In a statement, the election commission said that it reviewed work on delimiting constituencies and decided that the initial list for the delimitation of constituencies would be published on September 27, Pakistani news outlet Dawn reported.
According to the report, the date came nearly 24 hours after the election body asserted it had scheduled a meeting with political parties next month to discuss the code of conduct for general elections.
Pakistan general elections
Notably, the Pakistan National Assembly has 342 seats-- 272 of which are directly elected, 60 are reserved for women, and ten for religious minorities. According to the country's constitution, at least 70 seats reserved for women and religious minorities are allocated to the political parties as per their proportional representation.
Sharif’s ruling Pakistan Muslim League party (PML-N) is expected to face tough competition from Imran Khan’s PTI party-- though Khan himself would be unable to take part unless his conviction is overturned. Under Pakistan’s laws, no one with a criminal conviction can lead a party, run in elections, or hold public office.
This is a breaking story. More details will be added.
