Raja Riaz, the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly (NA), claimed on Tuesday that the opposition has chosen three candidates to serve as interim prime minister (PM) as the current administration is anticipated to leave office tomorrow (August 9).
Opposition finalised three names for caretaker PM: The opposition leader told News exclusively that he will meet with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif tomorrow and submit the three candidates that have been chosen for the job of caretaker prime minister.
Raja Riaz responded to a query by stating that the following general elections are anticipated to take place in March 2024 as a result of the Council of Common Interest’s (CCI) decision to announce the digital census in 2023.
Caretaker PM
The whole term of the current National Assembly expires on August 12; if it does, elections will be place within 60 days. However, the Constitution mandates that if the assembly is dissolved before the end of its term, elections must be held within 90 days.
If the summary to dissolve the lower house is put into motion on August 9 (tomorrow), the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will need to conduct elections within 90 days.
Before the assembly was dissolved, the government and the opposition had to come to an agreement on the caretaker regime that would fill the void until the next general election and the installation of a newly elected government.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif set a timetable for the dissolution of the National Assembly, and with just one day remaining, the ruling coalition is consulting in order to nominate a caretaker PM who has been “mutually agreed” upon.
Ishaq Dar, Hafeez Sheikh, and Justice Shakeel Baloch are among the names that have surfaced for the position of interim premier, although the current administration has not endorsed any of them.
Ishaq Dar, the finance minister, is still vying for the position of interim prime minister, according to a statement made a day earlier by federal minister for planning and development Ahsan Iqbal.
During the News programme “Khabar,” Ahsan Iqbal mentioned that negotiations for the position of caretaker prime minister are ongoing, and the name will be decided three days after the dissolution of the parliament.
He said that all government agencies are working together to stabilise the economy and are all committed to the growth of the nation.
Elections could be postponed
The Council of Common Interest (CCI) “unanimously” accepted the 2023 census, leading to the likely postponement of the country’s upcoming general elections.
Federal ministers Khawaja Muhammad Asif and Rana Sanaullah also proposed the possibility of delaying the general elections.
The prospect of delaying the next general elections was mentioned by Khawaja Asif a day earlier.
“I absolutely think that there will be elections in November. You questioned me, however, about the prospect of a delay, to which I responded, “On technical grounds, there is a possibility of a delay, but not for more than a few months.
Khawaja Asif responded when asked if the acceptance of the 2023 census would cause an election delay: “I cannot conjecture at this time, but it is a possibility. I’ll leave that open.
On the other hand, Rana Sanaullah stated that with fresh delimitations, the general elections would take place in the third week of February or the first week of March.
According to Sanaullah, a new delimitation is necessary per the constitution. “After new delimitations, the general elections would take place in the third or first week of March.”
In December 2023, he added, the delimitation process would be over.