ISLAMABAD  -  The Supreme Court has held that the delimita­tion of a constituency, although significant for ensuring fair and effec­tive representation, does not hold the same imme­diacy or overriding im­portance as the conduct of general elections.

“Delimitation, by its nature, is a detailed and often prolonged exercise, aimed at creat­ing constituencies that reflect current demo­graphic realities. While this is undoubtedly im­portant for the health of a democratic sys­tem, it is not so critical that it should impede the timely conduct of general elections,” said the judgment of three-member bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, and comprising Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Athar Minallah.

The bench suspended the operation of the Balochistan High Court (BHC) order dated 12.12.2023. The BHC had allowed the con­stitutional petitions regarding delimitation of constituencies in Dis­trict Sherani and Dis­trict Zhob and declared the delimitation order of the Election Commis­sion of Pakistan dated 26.11.2023 void and of no legal effect. The High Court further directed the ECP to notify the final delimitation (Form-7) for both constituencies. The judgment authored by Jus­tice Mansoor and issued on Wednesday said; “In ap­plying the principle of proportionality, it becomes evident that the larger good – the uninterrupted continuation of democratic processes and the assur­ance of the people’s right to government formation – takes precedence. Postponing general elections to address constituency delimitation could lead to a vacuum in governance and a potential crisis of le­gitimacy. Such a situation would be antithetical to the principles of democracy and the larger good of the populace.” The judgment said that therefore, the principle of proportionality and the concept of the larger good demand that general elections be given primacy. Issues concerning the delimitation of con­stituencies, while important, should be addressed subsequent to the elections. This approach ensures the continuity of democratic governance and up­holds the fundamental rights of the electorate, while still acknowledging the need for eventual and neces­sary adjustments in constituency boundaries. 

It added, “Therefore, if we proceed to adjudicate upon the issue of delimitation of the constituencies before us thereby re-examining or altering the no­tified constituencies by the ECP under challenge, we will invariably upset the timeline of the Election Programme and derail the electoral process already set afoot by the Election Programme announced on 15 December, 2023.” The court said; “Applying the scale of proportionality, to us the constitutional im­portance of holding of General Elections in a consti­tutional democracy as per the Election Programme far outweighs the need for re-examining the de­limitation of a constituency at this critical elector­al juncture. Any intervention by us in revisiting the contours of delimitation of a constituency done by the ECP at this stage will open floodgates of similar litigation, resulting in choking the election process.”