Rana Sanaullah: Govt to hold general elections on 2017 census. The News reported on Sunday that the government had decided not to announce the results of the most recent census and to hold the upcoming general elections based on the 2017 population count.
On Saturday night’s episode of “Naya Pakistan” of Geo News, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah made the claim.
“The term of the Council of Common Interests (CCI) must end. Elections held using the results of the previous census and delimitation if this new census not notified by then.
“The government has decided it will not notify this [new census] and the Election Commission of Pakistan will be bound to conduct the elections on the basis of the previous census,” he said. “The assemblies dissolved after their terms have concluded.”
Sanaullah responded that the government would not be announcing the new census because it had “issues” when questioned if he meant the CCI would not.
He continued by saying that various stakeholders also troubled by it.
When questioned further about the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), a government ally in the Centre, and its concerns with the 2017 census, Sanaullah claimed the party was unhappy with the new digital census.
They reject the new census altogether.
He added that Balochistan’s new census had also drawn criticism.
And he emphasized that there should be agreement on the results of the census and that any decision made in a hurry about it might result in a “controversial situation” in the nation.
Ahsan Iqbal: Impossible to conduct elections on new digital census
He claimed that it would “take time” for all parties to reach agreement on the census.
Separately, Sanaullah stated that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif working on the nomination process for the caretaker prime minister and that the process finished in a week or ten days. The opposition leader and allies consulted on it by the prime minister, he continued.