The Independent Election Commission (IEC) said Saturday they will start the process of drawing up a voter list by the end of the first month of the next solar year (late April). 

This comes after the commission said recently that it would roll out the process at the beginning of the new year, which is next week.

The deputy chief of operations for the commission, Wasima Badghisi, meanwhile said they will start the voter registration process in large cities around the country next month and that once this has been done, a list of candidates for parliamentary and district council elections will be drawn up. 

“By the end of Hamal (the first month of the new solar year) the voters list process will start for the first time in the country. This is a practical step towards holding elections,” Badghisi said. 

However, a number of MPs have blasted the IEC for delaying the process and for not meeting expected deadlines.

“The commission has failed to carry out its responsibilities based on what has been said in the law and what people expect of the commission,” MP Nisar Haris said. 

“We expect the Independent Election Commission to hold the elections based on the law and based on the plans to retain people’s confidence. Because as long as the election is delayed, the crisis will increase in the country,” MP Helai Irshad said. 

Another deadline the IEC is likely to miss is that of parliamentary and district council elections. The commission recently announced that it could move the scheduled polls from July to October.