Pakistani President Dr. Arif Alvi has convened separate farewell sessions of the upper and lower houses of the parliament today, Thursday, and Monday, respectively, the president’s office said, as the South Asian country prepares to go to polls in November.
The development comes after Pakistan’s ruling coalition said earlier this month it would dissolve parliament and hand over the reins to a caretaker government next month, four days before it is constitutionally required to do so. Parliament’s tenure constitutionally ends on August 12.
“The president of Pakistan has convened the next session of the Senate on Monday, July 24, at 3 p.m. [and] convened the next session of the National Assembly on Thursday, July 20, at 5 pm,” the president of Pakistan’s official Twitter account said this week.
Pakistan will go to polls after months of political and economic turmoil, with uncertainty even to the extent that the vote might be delayed for at least one year. A caretaker government will have 90 days at its disposal to hold the election after the government hands over power early, but it would have had 60 days if the government had handed over power at the designated time.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s coalition government took over after his predecessor, Imran Khan, was ousted high handedly in a vote of no confidence in parliament in April 2022. Since then, Khan has been campaigning for snap elections, organizing protests across the country, and raising tensions with the powerful military, which Khan accuses of plotting against him. The military, which has ruled Pakistan for about half its history, says it no longer interferes in civilian politics.
