Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is likely to deliver President Dr Arif Alvi the summary for dissolving the National Assembly tonight, after which the NA will be dissolved at midnight.
“After the completion of our term, we will write to the president of Pakistan on Wednesday requesting that the assembly be dissolved, and then a caretaker government will come,” he said on Tuesday during the inauguration ceremony of the tube-well solar energy transmission project.
Today, the Prime Minister will meet with the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, Raja Riaz, and will preside over the federal cabinet’s final meeting.
On Tuesday, Riaz stated that he had not yet discussed the names of the caretaker prime ministers with the PM.
“I hope to have a meeting tomorrow (Wednesday) where these issues will be discussed,” he added, adding that the consultation would take place at “the appropriate time.”
However, Riaz stated that he had completed consultations with his allies and that the three names for interim prime minister were “almost 90% finalised.”
Concerning prospective election delays, Riaz stated that elections should ideally be place within three months, but the approval of the most recent census has complicated matters.
He predicted that the election would be postponed for six months.
“A general election to the National Assembly or a provincial assembly shall be held within 60 days immediately following the day on which the term of the assembly is due to expire, unless the Assembly has been sooner dissolved,” states Article 224 of the Constitution.
According to Article 224(2), in the event of an early dissolution, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is required to convene general elections within 90 days of the dissolution.
