Polls unlikely to be held within 90 days of NA dissolution: ministers

According to recent statements made by Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, there is a possibility that the next general elections in Pakistan may face delays. The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) coalition government, led by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), had previously announced that the assemblies would be dissolved on August 9.

Under Article 224(2) of the Constitution of Pakistan, elections must be held within 90 days of the dissolution of an Assembly, whether National or Provincial, and the results must be declared within a maximum of 14 days after the conclusion of polls. However, when asked if 2023 is the year of elections during a news segment aired on a private news channel on Tuesday, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said “In a straightforward answer – no”.

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

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Sanaullah stressed that it is deemed necessary

Sanaullah 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. This process typically takes around 120 days, so it is not like the elections being delayed for “many months”. “Once this constitutional requirement of delimitation is completed, then God-willing, elections will be held,” said the minister.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had said last week that the polls would be held on the basis of the latest census. While some allied political parties, including the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), had opposed holding the polls under the new census, the Council of Common Interest (CII) approved the results of the 2023 digital census on Saturday. Shortly after that, the federal government placed the responsibility of conducting elections within the next three months on the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

Meanwhile, the ECP has stated that completing the delimitation process on the basis of a fresh census would require four to six months. The federal body is expected to finalise a time frame for new delimitations later today.

During a news segment, Sanaullah was also

During a news segment, Sanaullah was also asked about names under consideration for caretaker prime minister. He said that no name has been decided yet and it is likely that it will be decided by tomorrow. The interior minister had made similar comments a day prior on another news segment aired by a private news broadcaster. “I cannot predict the future but if 90 days turn into 120 days, there exists a constitutional basis for it,” he said.

When asked about an earlier statement where he had said that a fresh census was not needed, Sanaullah said that if the latest census had not been notified “unanimously by national consensus, then elections were to be held within 90 days on existing delimitation”. At the same time, Sanaullah expressed relief at all relevant parties accepting the 2023 census after their concerns were addressed.

In a conversation with CNN’s Becky Anderson broadcasted on Monday night, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said that under the Constitution elections are to be held within 90 days of dissolution of assemblies and National Assembly is scheduled to be dissolved by August 9 evening.