KARACHI: Constituencies for Pakistan's 2023 election will be demarcated on the basis of a new census, Planning Minister Asad Umar said on Saturday, as he expects the nosecount to be completed within the next 18 months.
General elections are scheduled to be held in Pakistan before Oct. 12, 2023, or less than 60 days from the dissolution of the National Assembly which will take place on Aug. 13, 2023.
"We have to complete this within 18 months. It will be completed by the beginning of 2023, new delimitation will be carried on the basis of fresh census," Umar said in a press conference in Karachi.
"A team of experts has completed their consultations and I have prepared a summary for next cabinet meeting."
He added that while until now all censuses have been done manually, the 2023 count is going to employ technology.
"This will be first time in Pakistan that technology will be used, it will a digitalized census, properly geo-tagging will be done."
Although the census is supposed to be held at 10-year intervals, the government has committed to holding the next population census before the 2023 election.
The results of the last census held in 2017 attracted much criticism, especially in Karachi and the whole of Sindh province, following reports that millions of the region's residents were not counted and not taken into account in the allocation and demarcation of constituencies in the 2018 general election.
