Pakistan PM Sharif says he will hand over power, paving way for general election

Prime minister says Election Commission of Pakistan will announce the date of vote

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Pakistan prime minister Shehbaz Sharif announced on Thursday that he will hand over power to a caretaker government on 14 August, setting the stage for general elections amid rising uncertainties over the vote.

During an address in Islamabad, the prime minister said: “I assure you that our government will end on 14 August, and whenever elections happen, whether in October or November, the Election Commission of Pakistan will announce it.”

Mr Sharif, of the Pakistan Muslim League, was elected unopposed successor of Imran Khan’s government after he lead a coalition of opposition parties to overthrow his government through a parliamentary vote of no-confidence in April 2022.

His term is due to end in mid-August.

According to the constitution, general elections are held 60 days after the completion of the National Assembly’s constitutional tenure. However, if the government chooses to dissolve the lower house of parliament shortly before its constitutional term ends, the window for elections is extended up to 90 days following the dissolution.

Mr Sharif’s latest statement suggested that his government has no plans to dissolve the National Assembly before the end of its tenure on 14 August.

It comes after Pakistan’s election commission postponed a key vote in the state of Punjab until 8 October, citing security issues and an ongoing economic crisis.

Pakistan’s Supreme Court called moves to delay the Punjab election “unconstitutional” and demanded more transparency around the decision, while ordering the government to release Rs 21bn (£60m) in funds to pay for the Punjab vote to go ahead.

There are hopes that the general election will finally ease a long-running political crisis that has beleaguered the country since Mr Khan and his party PTI were ousted from government, and responded with unprecedented nationwide protests demanding a new snap general election be held.

It remains unclear whether Mr Khan would be able to contest the election, as he is facing almost 200 different criminal charges ranging from sedition to corruption. Mr Khan has denied the charges and says they are politically motivated.

Thousands of PTI supporters staged violent protests and attacked sites associated with the military establishment following Mr Khan’s arrest and detention by officials from the National Accountability Bureau.

The lingering political turmoil has only worsened the cash-strapped country’s economic crisis. It finally managed to secure a $3bn bailout package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday after an extensive period of negotiations.