ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar said on Thursday general elections could be held before February next year, amid widespread fears polls could be delayed. 

According to Pakistan’s constitution, general elections must be held within 90 days after the dissolution of the National Assembly once a government completes its term. The outgoing government of PM Shehbaz Sharif dissolved the NA on Aug. 9, meaning polls would be held in November. 

However, the Sharif administration’s decision to approve the results of the latest population census before it dissolved the National Assembly bound the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to redraw hundreds of federal and provincial constituencies as per those results before it could set an election date, likely for February. 

“They [elections] may be held even before that,” Kakar said during an interview on a Pakistani news channel when asked whether elections would be held by January or February 2024. 

“But since this is to be decided by the Election Commission of Pakistan, we are also waiting so that as soon as it announces the date, we can complete all preparations linked to it, support it [ECP], fulfill our constitutional obligation and go home.” 

Sharif’s government in June also approved amendments to Pakistan’s Election Act 2017, granting the ECP the power to announce the date for elections unilaterally. Previously, the president was required to consult the election commission before determining a date for polls. 

When asked whether the caretaker government would hold elections within 90 days of the dissolution of the National Assembly if ordered by the Supreme Court to do so, Kakar responded by saying: “Of course.”

“Look, the Supreme Court is an apex body and when all legal questions are decided before it then of course it is binding upon you ... We will try to ensure its implementation in letter and spirit.”

Pakistan enters an election year as former prime minister Imran Khan, arguably the country’s most popular politician, serves a three-year sentence after being convicted last month in a case involving the sale of state gifts during his tenure as premier. Khan has accused Pakistan’s powerful military establishment of sidelining him from politics and targeting his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party before elections out of fear of his growing popularity. 

The military and Sharif’s outgoing government both reject the allegations. Kakar has said his government would provide a “level-playing field” to all political parties when elections are held. 

“Let me assure you that all of Pakistan’s voters have the right to exercise their vote in favor of the political representative they want to choose or the political party they want to listen to,” he said. “There will be no institutional interference.”