Parliament dissolved in Pakistan – Vedomosti

Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif sent a request on August 9 to the country’s president to dissolve the National Assembly (lower house of parliament) in preparation for national elections. The five-year terms of office of the parliament and head of government expire on 12 August. “Tonight, I will advise the president to dissolve parliament,” Reuters reported the words of the prime minister.

Speaking to deputies, Sharif said that on August 10, he will begin negotiations with opposition leaders in order to decide on a candidate for interim prime minister. One of the main contenders for this position, according to Al Jazeera, may be the former finance minister in the cabinet of the ousted Imran Khan, Hafiz Sheikh.

If Sharif’s decision to dissolve parliament is approved by President Arif Alvi, elections, according to Pakistani law, should take place in 90 days under the supervision of an interim head of government. But the chances of an election being held by November are slim: the Electoral Commission (ECP) must begin the process of redistricting based on the new census. Earlier, on August 5, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the results of Pakistan’s digital census, which showed the country’s population of 241 million, up from 207 million in 2017. According to Pakistani law, voting can only be conducted in accordance with the delimitation of electoral districts, which will be established based on the latest census data. And it takes at least four months for redistricting to take place, according to the ECP.

On August 8, Interior Minister Rana Sanaulla, speaking on local television, said there was no chance of holding elections this year.

On August 7, a Pakistani court sentenced former prime minister and leader of the opposition Movement for Justice party Imran Khan to three years in prison and a fine. The court charged Khan with selling foreign gifts worth 140 million Pakistani rupees ($635,000) and withholding information about these transactions. In addition, Khan is accused of misappropriation of funds from the family fund in the creation of Al-Qadeer University in the total amount of 50 billion Pakistani rupees (about $175 million). Khan was already tried to be arrested in May, but then this led to large-scale protests that resulted in loss of life. As a result of those events, the Supreme Court of Pakistan declared the arrest of the ex-premier illegal, after which he was released on bail.