Pakistan politics braces for change with National Assembly set to dissolve on August 9

Pakistan's National Assembly is all set to be dissolved on August 9 or Wednesday at midnight, marking the end of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's government. With this, Shehbaz is likely to step down from his prime ministerial position. While speaking at an event held at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi on Tuesday, he confirmed, “On the completion of the incumbent government’s term, I would send a summary to the President of Pakistan for dissolution of the National Assembly by Wednesday.”

“Tomorrow [Wednesday] my government completes its term and [after] meeting constitutional norms, we will hand over the reins to the interim set-up,” the premier added.

Though the tenure of the NA will end on August 12, Shehbaz decided to write to Pakistani President Dr Arif Alvi to end government tenure three days early.

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Now, according to Pakistan’s constitution, elections are to be conducted within 60 days of the dissolution of the lower house. However, this election window is extended to 90 days if the NA is dissolved way before the completion of its tenure.

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Shehbaz is expected to engage in consultations with both allies and opposition leaders with the focus of these discussions on the formation of a caretaker government.

Interim set-up

Prime Minister Shehbaz said that the chief election commissioner will play a crucial role in determining the future steps related to the upcoming elections. While there is unanimous consensus among various parties for holding elections expeditiously, the exact timeline will be determined by the relevant authorities.

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To fulfil his constitutional obligation, Prime Minister Shehbaz is expected to meet with the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, Raja Riaz.

The focus of this meeting will be discussions regarding the appointment of an interim prime minister.

As per Dawn News, a final federal cabinet meeting is on the agenda, during which Shehbaz will provide an overview of his government's performance since April of the preceding year. Moreover, Prime Minister Shehbaz will inform cabinet members about the composition of the caretaker government.

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Riaz told a media outlet that after discussions, three names for the interim prime minister have been finalised. “They do not include any politicians, but an economist has been shortlisted,” he said.

Potential election delays

Regarding the election timeline, Raja Riaz noted that while elections are ideally held within three months, complications arising from the approval of the latest census might lead to a six-month delay. Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah had previously speculated that elections could be delayed due to the need for constituency delimitations following the 2023 census, potentially pushing the elections to March of the following year.

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