What happened: On Apr 5, the Election Commission of Pakistan stated that it’s unable to hold general elections within three months due to a variety of legal and procedural issues. The ECP’s top official said the general election preparations will take about six months. The primary issues, he added, were new constituency delimitation, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the number of seats had been raised under the 26th Amendment, and bringing district, and constituency level electoral lists in line. Details: Procurement of election materials, arrangements for ballot papers, and the employment and training of polling officials are among other obstacles, according to the official. He explained that the law required the use of ballot papers with a watermark, which were not accessible in the nation and would have to be imported. He added that the ECP has proposed changing the law to allow for ‘security measures’ instead of a ‘water mark’ on voting papers. Other aspects: According to the source, the ECP was required to release an election plan four months ahead to the polls under Section 14 of the Elections Act. The official claimed that the law requiring the use of EVMs (electronic voting machines) and granting voting rights to overseas Pakistanis obstructed the process and needed to be repealed.