At midnight on Wednesday, Pakistan President Arif Alvi dissolved the National Assembly.
The National Assembly was dissolved by Pakistan President Arif Alvi on Wednesday, following the advice of former Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, effectively ending the government’s rule and setting the stage for future general elections.
The Aiwan-i-Sadr issued a notification for the dissolution of the National Assembly in accordance with Article 58 of its constitution.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Sharif, wrote to President Alvi on Wednesday, requesting the dissolution of the National Assembly three days before the end of its five-year constitutional term.
The Dawn newspaper reported that President Arif Alvi dissolved the National Assembly at midnight on Wednesday, following Prime Minister Sharif’s recommendation.
The current government’s term will conclude soon as the lower house is dissolved.
Murtaza Javed Abbasi, the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, announced that the elected government has completed its five-year term and submitted the summary for assembly dissolution to the prime minister under Article 58 of the Constitution.
On Thursday, the prime minister chaired the final meeting of the federal cabinet in Islamabad.
Sharif announced in his farewell address to the National Assembly on Wednesday that he would send the recommendation for dissolving the assembly to President Muhammad Shah, with the approval of the House. The coalition government led by Pakistan Muslim League and Nawab leader Imran Khan expressed doubts about immediate notification being given by President Alvi.
The lower house of Parliament would have been dissolved if Prime Minister Sharif had recommended it three days before its expiration. President Alvi could have deferred the dissolution for up to two days and then proceeded with it afterwards.
If the assembly has been dissolved before time, then elections would be held within 90 days by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), and polls would have been conducted within 60 days if the National Assembly had completed its constitutional term, but in case of dissolution before period, election should take 90days.
The delimitation of boundaries is a constitutional requirement for elections, as the new census results have been approved and it is anticipated that the polls will be postponed for 1-2 months.
The ECP is obligated to conduct the delimitation process within 120 days before declaring the election schedule.
Although it is feasible to hasten the process and conduct elections within 90 days, it remains uncertain if the ECP will adhere to the deadline.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Sharif announced at a ceremony that he would send ‘a summary to the President of Pakistan on Wednesday as soon as it is concluded that the current government has completed its term’ and an interim government will be formed to dissolve the National Assembly.
The 15th National Assembly, which was the outgoing assembly, began its five-year journey on August 13, 2018, with the election of a speaker and deputy speaker. Elections were held on July 25, 2018.
The appointment of a caretaker prime minister will commence under Article 224-A of the Constitution after the dissolution of this assembly.
Consultations will be held between Prime Minister Sharif and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Raja Riaz to decide on who will serve as interim prime minister.
The matter of caretaker prime minister will be brought before the parliamentary committee if they fail to reach an agreement on the name within three days.
The parliamentary committee will receive nominations from both the premier and the opposition leader, as per the law.
The parliamentary committee must decide on the name of the caretaker prime minister within three days, and if there is no agreement on it, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will select them within two days from the opposition and government’s suggested names.
The PTI core committee chose to honor the day in a statement released on Wednesday, as the 16-month term of the PDP government ends tonight.
The PTI has opted to present a comprehensive report on the “devastation” caused by the incompetent government led by former PDM before the nation, read the statement.
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