Pakistan's Premier Sharif makes announcement signaling elections on time

KARACHI, Pakistan

Indicating that general elections in Pakistan will be held on time in October, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Thursday that his government would dissolve next month and hand over the reigns to a caretaker setup.

Sharif's televised address to the nation and announcement of the caretaker government came three months before the general elections scheduled in October.

The current five-year term of National Assembly, or the lower house of the bicameral parliament, ends on Aug. 13 and is the 10th elected parliament since 1973, when Pakistan adopted is current constitution.

It first elected Imran Khan, chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), as prime minister on Aug. 18, 2018, but removed his government in a no-confidence vote in April last year and then elected Sharif, the president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), to the coveted position.

Sharif was elected with support from a coalition of 11 parties — known as Pakistan Democratic Movement.

Khan has blamed a conspiracy to topple his government and has been demanding elections ever since being removed from office.

According to the Constitution, the lower house is elected for a five-year term, and before new elections, an "apolitical" setup is installed with the mandate to hold fresh elections.

Sharif said he was given the "sacred responsibility" of running the country by the nation as prime minister in April last year.

"We will return this responsibility in August 2023 to the caretaker government," he maintained.

The caretaker prime minister is jointly chosen by the sitting prime minister and the opposition leader.

If the two fail to pick a candidate, a parliamentary committee of the lower house with equal representation of the Treasury and opposition decides the matter.

If the committee also fails to do so, the matter goes to the Election Commission of Pakistan which picks one of four candidates proposed by the government and the opposition, as caretaker prime minister.

The current parliament came into being in the wake of the 2018 elections, when Khan's PTI party emerged as the single largest party.

It secured 155 seats in a 342-member house, followed by the now-ruling PML-N with 91 seats, and coalition partner Pakistan Peoples Party with 53 seats.

According to the 1973 Constitution, Pakistan follows a parliamentary system of government, where the prime minister is elected by the National Assembly.

The leader of the house must secure the support of more than half of parliament.

Following the 18th Constitutional amendment passed in 2010, a ruling government steps down three months ahead of the general elections and a caretaker setup is installed to hold the polls.

*Riyaz ul Khaliq contributed to the story from Istanbul