Pak National Assembly to be dissolved on August 9, elections to be held within 90 days

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday (August 3) told his coalition partners that the National Assembly (NA) would be dissolved on August 9, reported Geo News.

NA is the lower house of the Pakistani Parliament. Its dissolution is followed by the installation of a caretaker government and general elections within 60 days.

PM Shehbaz is expected to talk to the Leader of the Opposition Raja Riaz over the caretaker prime minister on Friday (August 4). He told his partners during a dinner that the talks with the opposition leader are expected to end within two to three days.

When will elections be held?

The tenure of the NA will end on August 12. According to Pakistan’s constitution, elections are to be conducted within 60 days of the dissolution of the lower house.

The window is extended to 90 days if the NA is dissolved way before the completion of its tenure.

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Now, a summary will be moved in the NA to dissolve the lower house on August 9. In any case, the Election Commission of Pakistan will be liable to conduct general elections within 90 days of the dissolution.

It is expected that elections in Pakistan could be held in the early days of November 2023.

What happens next?

Last month, Prime Minister Shehbaz established a five-member committee within the Pakistan Muslim League (N) or PMNL party, to engage in discussions regarding the appointment of an interim prime minister and the dissolution of the National Assembly, as reported by The News.

While the provincial assemblies of Sindh and Balochistan are also scheduled for dissolution alongside the National Assembly next week, it's noteworthy that the committee exclusively consists of members from the Punjab region.

This committee, led by federal ministers Ishaq Dar, Ahsan Iqbal, Khawaja Saad Rafiq, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, and Khawaja Muhammad Asif, has been assigned the responsibility of consulting with the various political parties and groups that make up the current government.

As per the constitution, both the prime minister as the leader of the House and the leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly are required to initiate these consultations. Should they be unable to reach an agreement, the matter would be referred to a parliamentary committee, which would be formed by the Speaker of the National Assembly.

If the parliamentary committee also fails to select an interim Prime Minister, the final authority to make this selection would lie with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

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