Pakistan Election Commission official on Thursday announced a tentative date of the general polls and claimed that the country is fully prepared for holding the elections, Dawn reported.
Quoting Election Commission Special Secretary Zafar Iqbal, it reported that polls would be held by October 11 if the National Assembly was dissolved on August 12, when its five-year term comes to an end.
The ECP official’s statement about the date of the election comes as political parties, particularly those part of the ruling coalition, increasingly engage in consultations — reportedly on the timing of the elections and the caretaker setup, among other matters — ahead of the polls slated to take place later this year, according to Pakistani English daily.
Earlier last week, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had announced that his tenure would end on August 13, 2023, he announced that his government would hand over the power to a caretaker setup before the completion of its tenure next month.
Why Shehbaz is handing over early?
Under the Constitution, if the National Assembly completes its term, polls are to be held within 60 days. But if the assembly is dissolved prematurely, even if by a day, it would give the government 90 days to conduct elections.
The five-year term of the National Assembly commenced under the then-Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government of Imran Khan on August 12, 2018, and is set to be completed under the ruling coalition led by Shehbaz. Addressing a laptop distribution ceremony in Sialkot, Shehbaz said: “Our government will complete its term next month. We will hopefully go before the tenure’s completion and the new interim government will take over.”
He further said if his party (PML-N) wins the upcoming general elections, it will change the destiny of the country.
It is worth mentioning the current Shehbaz government came into power in April last year after throwing the Imran Khan regime. Since then, the government has been facing multiple turbulence-- be it economic, inflation or domestic unrest. Khan, who has been facing multiple charges, on several occasions demanded early elections. However, his demand was declined by the Election Commission.
