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ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday told National Assembly Standing Committee on Parliamentary Affairs that a schedule for forthcoming general election 2018 is expected to be announced on May 26 and process of delimitation would be completed on February 28.

The committee met with Dr Shezra Mansab Ali Khan Kharal in the chair at the Parliament House and discussed the issues relating to population censes, delimitation and general election.

While briefing the committee, ECP Additional Secretary Zafar Iqbal Hussain said that delimitation committees for every province have been constituted with a competent officer of grade-21. He said that the delimitation committees are presently working on draft proposals for delimitation of constituencies of the National Assembly/provincial assemblies. He said that the ECP has conveyed share of each district in the National Assembly or provincial assembly to the delimitation committees concerned.

The additional secretary said that the ECP has got provisional results of population census, adding, “We would complete delimitation within the timeline.” He said that the delimitation process would be completed on February 28 and it would be made public on March 5, 2018.

He said that the schedule for the Senate election regarding FATA and Islamabad was not announced as the President of Pakistan did not prescribe election so far. However, he said that a summary has been sent to the Prime Minister for this purpose and the schedule would be announced within two days.

Replying to a query, he said that the ECP has given date from February 4-6 for submission of nomination papers but now it has been extended from February 4 to 8.

While briefing the committee, the secretary Statistics Division said that Pakistan Bureau of Statistics has compiled provisional summary results containing total number of males, females, transgender community and total population along with urban / rural breakdown at national, provincial, administrative districts and tehsil level from REN-2 forms (summary sheet) developed for each enumeration block.

He said that Pakistan annual growth rate of population is 2.4 percent while there was 2.69 percent in 1998 population census. He said that the growth rate of population census is 2.89 percent in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 2.41 percent in the FATA, 2.13 percent in Punjab, 2.41 percent in Sindh, 3.37 percent in Balochistan and 4.91 percent in Islamabad.

The secretary Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs briefed the committee about the comprehensive report/implementation status of the previous recommendations of the committee. He informed that the ministry complied with the directions of the committee and also sent letters to the concerned department for implementation on the directions of the committee.

The committee unanimously deferred the Bill ‘The Elections (Amendment) Act, 2017’ moved by MNA Naeema Kishwer Khan.

MNAs including Sardar Ashiq Hussain Gopang, Rasheed Ahmad Khan, Nadeem Abbas Rabaira, Ch Salman Haneef Khan, Shazia Mubashar, Arifa Khalid Parves, Dr Shazia Sobia and Nafeesa Inayatullah Khan Khattak attended the meeting. The meeting was also attended by senior officers of the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.