Pakistan Elections Likely in November after PM Shehbaz Sharif Hints at Early Exit – News18

General elections in Pakistan are likely to be held in the month of November after the country’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said he would hand over the reins to the caretaker set-up next month before the completion of the assembly’s tenure. The Pakistan PM made these remarks during an address at the Government College Women’s University in Sialkot on Sunday.

“Next month our government will complete its tenure, [but] we will leave before the completion of our tenure and an interim government will come in,” Shehbaz was quoted as saying by Dawn newspaper. He hinted at the return of his exiled brother Nawaz Sharif to the electoral arena. Shehbaz vowed that if voted back to power, Nawaz Sharif would “make Pakistan great”.

“Nawaz Sharif Sahib will turn Pakistan into a progressive state if people provided him another opportunity to lead the country. Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and the entire leadership of PML-N would change the destiny of the country by putting it on the path of progress and prosperity,” he said.

Under the Constitution of Pakistan, general elections must be held under the supervision of a neutral caretaker government so that a level playing field is available to all political parties. The caretaker prime minister is appointed by agreement between the outgoing prime minister and the opposition leader in the National Assembly.

Read More: Will Hand Over Charge to Caretaker Government in August: Pak PM Shehbaz Sharif

If they fail to agree on a name, the prime minister and the leader of the Opposition send their names to a bipartisan committee to agree on a name within a given time period. If the committee also fails, the same names are sent to the Election Commission of Pakistan, which appoints one of them as the prime minister.

The caretaker prime minister appoints a Cabinet to run the affairs of the country and his tenure ends as soon as the new prime minister takes oath after elections. It is so far not clear who would be the caretaker prime minister but political parties are having consultations to appoint one with consensus.

These remarks come as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a much-awaited USD 3 billion bailout for the cash-strapped country last week, a move that’s likely saved the nation from defaulting on its debt repayments. Sharif has been trying to overcome the economic crisis since he came into power after Khan was ousted in a no-confidence vote in parliament in April 2022.

(With agency inputs)