Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday said the coalition government’s tenure will end on Aug. 14, adding the date for the general elections will subsequently be announced by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in either “October or November.”
In recent weeks, several lawmakers have made it clear that they will not seek any extension to the tenure of the incumbent government, however they have refused to provide any commitment for a date for polls. Under law, if Parliament completes its tenure, the ECP must conduct general elections within 60 days—or no later than Oct. 14. Article 224(2) of the Constitution increases this timeline to 90 days if Parliament is dissolved earlier than its mandated tenure. With the Punjab and KP assemblies already dissolved, and the tenures of Balochistan and Sindh set to expire on Aug. 13, nationwide general elections can take place simultaneously, as desired by parties comprising the ruling coalition.
All major ruling coalition partners have expressed a desire to see elections take place within this year, though have made it clear the mandate for setting a date rests with the ECP. The PTI, too, wants timely elections, with party leader Imran Khan seeking “guarantees” from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as a prerequisite for pledging support to the nine-month $3 billion Stand-by Arrangement the government has inked with the global lender. According to sources, the IMF informed Khan that it could not interfere in any country’s political process to that extent.
“Our government’s tenure will end on Aug. 14 … the Election Commission will decide when the polls will take place—whether in October or November,” Sharif said during an address in Islamabad at the Education Endowment Fund launch ceremony. Stressing that whoever forms the next government should prioritize education to “make the nation great,” he said the incumbent government had earmarked Rs. 3 billion for the endowment fund in the current fiscal year to enable youth to become “builders of the nation.”
There has been growing speculation over the past few months about a possible delay in the general elections, either through an extended interim setup or an extension to the tenure of the incumbent government. The prime minister’s address makes it clear the latter is not an option for lawmakers, however it remains unclear when the ECP would announce a date for polls, with speculation persisting over caretaker governments exceeding their constitutional term, as has already been witnessed in Punjab and KP.