Explainer: NA dissolution and caretaker setup

ISLAMABAD:

As the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)-led coalition government's term of the National Assembly (NA) nears its end, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will send a summary for the dissolution of the lower house to the president today.

Last month, the premier announced that the tenure of the incumbent government would end on August 14, saying that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) would then announce the date for the next general election.

However, later Shehbaz confirmed that the NA will be dissolved three days shy of term completion – which is August 9 (today).

This will only be the third time in the country's history that a National Assembly has completed its tenure. Previously, it had completed its term in 2013 and 2018.

Process of dissolution of NA

The premier will send a summary to President Arif Alvi for the dissolution of the NA today following a joint sitting of the parliament scheduled to take place at 5.30 pm.

According to the Constitution, the assembly will stand dissolved as soon as the president signs the advice.

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However, Article 58 of the Constitution (dissolution of the National Assembly) states that the president shall dissolve the National Assembly if so advised by the prime minister; and the National Assembly shall, unless sooner dissolved, stand dissolved at the expiration of 48 hours after the prime minister has so advised.

What happens next?

Once the assembly stands dissolved, it is now on the Election of Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to announce the date for the next general elections.

Under Article 224 (1) of the Constitution (time of election and by-election), a general election to the National Assembly or a provincial assembly shall be held within a period of 60 days following the day on which the term of the assembly is due to expire, unless the assembly has been sooner dissolved.

In case of early dissolution, elections should be held within 90 days of the dissolution of an assembly - whether national or provincial - and the results should be declared in a maximum of 14 days after the conclusion of polls.

Interim setup

The primary purpose of the caretaker government, as mandated by the 1973 Constitution and the Elections Act, 2017, is to ensure free, fair, and transparent elections.

Under Article 224 (1A) of the Constitution, on the dissolution of the assembly on completion of its term, or in case it is dissolved under Article 58 or Article 112, the president or the governor, in case of a provincial assembly, shall appoint a caretaker cabinet.

The caretaker prime minister shall be [appointed] by the president in consultation with the prime minister and the leader of the opposition in the outgoing National Assembly, and a caretaker chief minister shall be appointed by the governor in consultation with the chief minister and the leader of the Opposition in the outgoing provincial assembly.

As provincial assemblies of Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa are already being governed by a caretaker setup, governors of only Sindh and Balochistan assemblies will appoint interim CMs.

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It adds that if the prime minister or a chief minister and their respective leaders of the Opposition do not agree on any person to be appointed as a caretaker prime minister or the caretaker chief minister, as the case may be, the provisions of Article 224 (A) shall be followed.

Under this law, the outgoing PM and leader of the Opposition have to put forward a name each to a committee formed by the speaker of the NA within three days of the dissolution.

It is then the committee’s responsibility to finalise the name of the caretaker PM within three days of receiving the names of the candidates.

If the committee is unable to finalise a name, the ECP then steps in and has two days to announce a name.

Article 224 (1B), however, states that the members of the caretaker cabinets, including the caretaker prime minister and the caretaker chief minister and their immediate family members shall not be eligible to contest the immediately following elections to such assemblies.

Minister hints at polls delay

Based on recent statements made by Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and Defence Minister Khawaja Asif there is a possibility that the next general elections may face delays.

During an interview with a local TV channel, when asked about the possibility of a caretaker set up being around for more than three months, Sanaullah said that this is not an anomaly.

He said according to the Constitution, a second election cannot be held based on the 2017 census as that had been accepted "provisionally for a single time".

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The 2018 general elections were held on the basis of the 2017 census.

He stressed that it is deemed necessary according to the Constitution that "once a census is notified, delimitation must be done before holding an election".

The caretaker government will complete this constitutional process and carry out the delimitation process, added the interior minister, elaborating that this process typically takes around 120 days so it is not like the elections being delayed for "many months"