Pakistan elections unlikely to take place on time, PM Shehbaz Sharif hints

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has hinted that the elections could be delayed, despite the parliament dissolutionscheduled to take place later this month. In an interview, Sharif said elections should be held under the new census. If the new census data is notified, then the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) would be obligated to do new de-limitations, which may push the election timeline.

“We have to hold the elections on the basis of the new census...When a census has been conducted, the [polls] should be held on its basis unless there is an obstacle that cannot be overcome. But I don’t see [any such hurdle],” the PM said.

When quizzed if holding elections, based on the new census will delay the elections or not, Shehbaz dropped the ball in ECP's court saying it was their job.

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Federal Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar on Monday (July 31) also iterated that polls will be delayed by at least three months or 90 days if the fresh census is taken into account.

Meanwhile, ECP has already explicitly expressed its inability to hold the polls based on the latest census results.

“The general elections 2023 for the national and provincial assemblies will be conducted as per the limits of the constituencies published by the Commission on August 5 last year,” a senior ECP official was quoted as saying by Dawn.

The official added that a constitutional amendment would be required following the official publication of census results, which was technically not possible after the acceptance of the resignations of the lawmakers.

“The ECP will have no other option but to hold upcoming general elections on the basis of the existing delimitation,” he added.

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Sharif to leave government before tenure ends

With elections scheduled to be held in November, Sharif has promised to hand overthe charge to the caretaker set-up by mid-August before the completion of the assembly’s tenure.

"We will leave before the completion of our tenure and an interim government will come in,” Shehbaz said last month.

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar's name among other biggies has been floated to take the interim charge.Reports state that Sharif is also mulling changes to the Elections Act 2017 to provide additional powers to the caretaker PM so that it can takedecisions beyond its constitutional mandate. The decision will help ensure the continuity of economic policiesand expedite the process aimed at receiving foreign investment in state-owned entities.

The present law bars the caretaker government from taking major policy decisions. Experts argue that the Sharif government may look to amend Section 230 of the Elections Act 2017. The particular section states that a caretaker (interim) government shall only perform its functions to attend to day-to-day matters.

(With inputs from agencies)

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