The National Assembly is likely to be dissolved in January 2013 and a caretaker set-up would be installed to supervise the forthcoming elections by mid April that the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) leadership considers the most propitious time, it is learnt.
According to sources, most of the senior leaders of PPP and its coalition partners have advised President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf to target mid April as the ideal date for elections. The reason is that votes would be lost if elections are held in the hot months of May or June due to expected heavy loadshedding.
However, the sources quoted President Zardari as saying that, "election date is in my heart and I will share it with my party and coalition partners at an appropriate time." They said President Zardari had directed the party leaders including MNAs, MPAs and senior workers to expedite the preparations for election campaigning.
The sources further revealed that the government was preparing a preliminary roadmap for the next general elections. The National Assembly is likely to be dissolved between January 15 to 17, and a caretaker set-up will be put in place to ensure the holding of elections by mid April. But the final decision is in the hands of President Asif Ali Zardari.
President Asif Ali Zardari would consult and take all coalition partners into confidence before taking final decision about the timing of the dissolution of the National and Provincial Assemblies preparatory to holding of the general elections. If the National Assembly is dissolved in January, the constitutional limit for holding polls is within 90 days. According to Article 224 of clause (2), "when the National Assembly or a Provincial Assembly is dissolved, a general election to the Assembly shall be held within a period of 90 days after the dissolution, and the results of the election shall be declared not later than 14 days after the conclusion of the polls."
The Constitution also stipulates that polls must be held within 60 days of the completion of the tenure of the current Parliament. According to Article 224 of Clause (1) "A general election to the National Assembly or a Provincial Assembly shall be held within a period of 60 days immediately following the day on which the term of the Assembly is due to expire, unless the Assembly has been sooner dissolved, and the results of the election shall be declared not later than 14 days before that day."
The current National Assembly will complete its tenure on March 16 and if the parliament completes its term the caretaker set-up will be constitutionally bound to hold the general elections no later than April 18. As the date for the polls approaches political "wheeling and dealing" and efforts to form new political alliances and seat adjustments are gathering momentum. The PPP government holds the title of being the first democratically elected government that completed its five-year tenure in the parliamentary history of the country.