Delimitation issue: FCCP stays Quetta LG polls 

Islamabad (Web Desk): The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) has issued a stay order on the conduct of Local Government (LG) elections in Quetta after raising questions over the validity of the delimitation process being used for the polls.

The decision was announced on Wednesday by a three-judge bench led by Chief Justice Ameen-ud-Din, alongside Justice Aamir Farooq and Justice Ali Baqar, during a hearing on a petition challenging the conduct of the elections.

The case was brought before the court by Abdul Qadir, who was represented by senior lawyer Kamran Murtaza.

Arguing on behalf of the petitioner, Murtaza pointed out that the delimitations for the local government elections had been drawn using population data from the 2017 census, despite the official notification of the 2023 census.

He maintained that proceeding with elections based on outdated census figures would compromise the principle of fair representation.

According to the petitioner’s counsel, constitutional and legal norms require that electoral delimitation be aligned with the most recent census to accurately reflect current demographic realities.

After hearing the arguments, the court issued a stay order against holding the local government elections in Quetta.

It also directed that notices be served to all concerned parties and postponed the case for further proceedings at a later date.