Report: Pakistan Government Plans to Dissolve Parliament on August 8th

According to a media report on Tuesday, the main members of Pakistan’s ruling coalition have decided to dissolve the National Assembly on August 8—a few days before the end of its five-year term—to give more time for general elections.

The current National Assembly’s five-year constitutional term ends on August 12 at midnight, which is four days after the date when all parties are apparently in agreement to dissolve the house.

The National Assembly will be dissolved on August 8 as per an agreement between the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), the two main players in the federal administration.

It was agreed to go with August 8 in order to avoid any obstacles in the early dissolution of the lower chamber of Parliament, the newspaper stated, citing sources. August 9 and 10 were also discussed.

The National Assembly Is legally dissolved within 48 hours if the president rejects the recommendation, allowing the administration adequate time to accomplish its goal of an early dissolution.

According to the Constitution, unless the legislature has been dissolved earlier, a general election for the National Assembly or a provincial legislature must be held within a window of 60 days immediately after the day on which the term of the Assembly is scheduled to end.

If the Assembly is dissolved before the end of its constitutional term, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is required to convene the general elections within 90 days. The coalition that makes up the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), led by the PML-N party, believes that dissolving the National Assembly will be advantageous for it.

“Our government’s term will end next month. At a recent event, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif declared, “We will depart before the end of our term, and an interim government will arrive.

Prior to the start of its constitutional term, the PPP led by Bilawal Zardari-Bhutto has suggested that the National Assembly be disbanded.

Marriyum Aurangzeb, the minister of information, stated that the National Assembly’s dissolution date has not yet been determined.

“The PDM and other affiliated parties will be consulted when determining the date (of dissolution). On her official Twitter account, she stated that the date for the National Assembly’s dissolution will be formally announced.

The federal administration will need a caretaker arrangement if the National Assembly is dissolved. Sharif will go on as prime minister for a short while a caretaker administration is established.
Within 48 hours following the assembly’s dissolution, Sharif would write to Raja Riaz, the head of the opposition in the National Assembly, requesting three candidates for the caretaker prime minister and will also provide three suggestions.

If the two leaders cannot agree on the name of the candidate after three days, the National legislature Speaker will appoint six members of the previous legislature to a committee, with equal representation from the Treasury and the Opposition.

The prime minister and the opposition leader will each submit two candidates to the committee.
The committee will then have three days to come to an agreement on a name. If both of those efforts fail, the names of the nominees will be sent to the Pakistani Election Commission for a final judgment within two days.

Until a new government is formed, the chosen nominee will carry out the functions of the interim prime minister. According to the source, the caretaker premier also has the authority to appoint cabinet members.

Imran Khan, the previous prime minister, was deposed by a vote of no-confidence in the National Assembly in April of last year, and Sharif was sworn in as the new leader.

Since being ousted, Chairman Khan of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has pushed for early elections.