ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday dismissed media misinformation about Hafizabad constituency delimitation, stating the official decision by a two-member bench was declared on November 26 and promptly posted on the ECP’s website for public awareness.

An ECP spokesperson explained that a subsequent order regarding the delimitation of Hafizabad district was issued on December 8, following the intervention of the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

The guidelines for constituencies are explicitly outlined in the Election Act of 2017 and its corresponding Rules, as explained below.

According to Election Rules 8(1), the population of the province is divided among the seats designated for the province under Article 106, Section 51 of the Constitution, after which the quota for each seat is established.

In the second phase, the quota calculated under Rules 8 (2) to determine district seats is divided by the district’s population, establishing the number of seats for that district. If the remaining population after seat allocation is less than 0.5, the district is ignored.

However, if the remaining population is 0.50 or more, the district is granted one seat. For instance, if a district’s seat share is 4.49 based on its population, it is allocated 4 seats. On the other hand, if its seat share is 4.52, the district is allotted 5 seats.