ISLAMABAD: Outgoing Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday said the country’s election regulator would decide about the timing of the upcoming general elections in Pakistan, amid growing uncertainty about the future political situation in the South Asian country.
The statement came a day after President Arif Alvi dissolved the lower house of parliament on Sharif’s advice, with the outgoing prime minister initiating a consultation process with the departing opposition leader to fulfill the constitutional requirement for deliberation on the caretaker prime minister.
The outgoing PM’s tenure technically expires on August 12, but he dissolved the assembly three days earlier to give the caretaker government 90 days to organize general elections, against 60 days if he were to step down on time, as per the constitution.
With parliament dissolved ahead of schedule, general elections would be due by November, but the government’s move last week to approve the results of a fresh digital census has thrown polls into uncertainty as the Election Commission is now bound under the constitution to draw new constituency boundaries as per the results of the latest population count. The process could take up to six months and would mean polling day is pushed back by months.
“Now the matter is with the chief election commissioner, you know, a Council of Common Interests meeting unanimously approved the new census results,” Sharif told Pakistan’s Geo news channel.
“The election commission has to decide on this now and tell the nation. Census is a CCI subject and elections will be held according to the new census, the ECP has to make a decision on this.”
Sharif maintained his government had “completely abided” by the constitution with regard to the transition of power.
“There is no onus on us... not even the caretaker government has to hold polls,” he said. “The CEC (chief election commissioner) has to order the polls.”
Pakistan, a country of 250 million, has been reeling from economic and political crises for more than a year, particularly after the ouster of former premier Imran Khan in a parliamentary no-trust vote in April 2022.
The country secured a last-gasp $3 billion deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on June 30, with Islamabad committing to a petroleum levy of up to 50 rupees a liter, alongside a string of painful measures, including raising extra revenues, increasing energy prices and a market-based exchange rate, which has already fueled inflation.
Fears persist about the running of day-to-day state business in the absence of an elected government, while analysts say any delay in polls could fuel public anger and add to uncertainty in the nuclear-armed country.
