Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is expected to send a summary to President Arif Alvi today (Wednesday), seeking the dissolution of the National Assembly a few days before the expiry of its constitutional tenure.
In various interviews and public speeches, the prime minister has confirmed that he would send a summary for the Lower House’s dissolution on Aug. 9, three days before its tenure is set to complete. The president will then have up to 48 hours to accept the summary under Article 58 of the Constitution. Whether or not he approves the summary, the National Assembly would stand dissolved on the night of Aug. 11. According to various government officials, the move is aimed at granting the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) 90 days to conduct elections, as the electoral body would otherwise only have 60 days if Parliament completes its term.
On Tuesday, in his farewell visit to General Headquarters in Rawalpindi, P.M. Sharif reiterated that he would write to the president on Wednesday (today) to end the incumbent government’s tenure. Following this, he had told a journalist earlier, it would be up to the ECP decide the exact date for conducting elections.
However, elections would likely be delayed beyond the 90-day limit, as the government last week approved the results of the digital census, thereby requiring fresh delimitation before the country can proceed to the polls. According to Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, elections are unlikely to occur before February or March 2024, as the ECP would need 120 days for the delimitation exercise in addition to the 90 days it requires for conducting the polls.
Despite today being considered the last full day of the incumbent government, it has yet to finalize any name for the slot of caretaker prime minister, with rumors suggesting it could either be an economic expert or an “experienced” politician. Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Raja Riaz on Tuesday told Geo News he would meet the prime minister today (Wednesday) to fulfill the constitutional obligation for consultations regarding the appointment of an interim premier. However, on Wednesday, he deferred the meeting, claiming he had “other engagements.” It is unclear when the two leaders would meet to finalize the name for caretaker prime minister.
Under law, the prime minister and the opposition leader have three days to settle on a candidate, failing which the matter is referred to a parliamentary committee. If the committee also fails to achieve consensus within three days, the matter is referred to the ECP. During the appointment process, the incumbent prime minister continues to function until his replacement has been appointed.
According to local media, the opposition has finalized “three names” for the slot, while P.M. Sharif maintains negotiations are ongoing with all coalition partners for the government’s list.