Pakistan to hold general elections at the end of January 2024. Know more

The Election Commission of Pakistan announced on Thursday that general elections would be held in the last week of January 2024. Initially scheduled for October this year, the polls have been pushed back by the early exit of the Shehbaz Sharif government and a subsequent census. 

The preliminary list of constituencies will be published on September 27. Local media reports indicate that the final list of constituencies will be released on November 30 after complaints and comments regarding the preliminary lists have been heard.

The elections will be scheduled for a 54-day period, with voting taking place in the final week of January 2024.

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A caretaker government was installed in August this year after the Shehbaz Sharif-led coalition stepped down just before completing its tenure. This in turn pushed the polling date back by an additional month. The previous government had also announced that the elections could take place only after a new census was completed and new constituency boundaries were drawn. The delimitation exercise became mandatory in the wake of the new census held this year.

The move had sparked fears that the polls may be further delayed as the delimitation process would take about four months to complete. The decision to shorten the timeframe of the delimitation comes amid mounting pressure on the ECP from several political parties. The Constitution also stipulateds that the ECP should complete the delimitation process within 120 days.

Elections will be held in the middle of a political crisis that has seen one of the country's most popular politicians – former PM Imran Khan – imprisoned and a major crackdown waged against his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party.

Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar has said the interim government is committed to upholding the democratic process in Pakistan by holding general elections and it will not make any excuse to delay it.

(With inputs from agencies