LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) – two major stakeholders at the Center – have agreed to dissolve the National Assembly on August 8, sources told JEE News on Tuesday.
The current National Assembly’s five-year constitutional term will expire at midnight on August 12, four days after the two parties reportedly agreed to dissolve the legislature.
According to the sources, August 9 and 10 were also discussed, but it was decided to go on August 8 to avoid any obstacle in the early dissolution of the assembly.
By law, if the president does not approve the summary, the assembly dissolves after 48 hours, giving the government plenty of time to achieve its goal of an early dissolution.
“General elections to the National Assembly or the Provincial Assembly shall be held within a period of sixty days immediately after the day on which the term of the Assembly is to expire, unless the Assembly is sooner dissolved,” Article 224. The Constitution states.
However, according to Article 224(2) of the Constitution, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is bound to conduct general elections within 90 days.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif recently said at an event that “next month our government will complete its term, we will leave before the completion of our term and an interim government will come.”
Caretaker Prime Minister What is the process?
After the dissolution of the National Assembly, the federal government will need a caretaker setup.
Article 224 of the Constitution defines the process of appointment of caretaker government at the Center and the provinces.
Prime Minister Shehbaz will continue his duties as Prime Minister for a few days until the caretaker government is formed.
Of all the elected representatives, only the current Speaker of the National Assembly, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, will remain in office until the newly elected legislators are sworn in and elect their replacements.
For the establishment of a caretaker government, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will write a letter to the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, Raja Riaz, and ask for three names for the caretaker prime minister within 48 hours of the dissolution of the assembly and himself will suggest three names. .
Suppose the stalemate between the two leaders persists for three days. In this case, the Speaker will form a committee of six members of the outgoing Assembly with equal representation from the Treasury and the Opposition.
The committee will be nominated by the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition.
The committee will then have three days to reach consensus on a name. If this also fails, the names of the nominated candidates will be sent to the Election Commission of Pakistan for a final decision within two days.
The selected candidate will perform his duties as the interim chief minister till the formation of the new government in the province. He also has the power to include the caretaker prime minister in his cabinet.
After the appointment of the caretaker chief minister, the Election Commission is bound to hold general elections in the province within 90 days.
