Explainer: What awaits Pakistan as it heads to the polls

Aug 12 (Reuters) – Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has dissolved the lower house of parliament, paving the way for a general election under a neutral interim administration.

The election is scheduled to take place within 90 days, in November, but uncertainty looms on the date as the nation grapples with constitutional, political and economic crises.

Here are some key questions about the situation and how the next few months are expected to unfold.

WHEN DOES A NEW GOVERNMENT ENTER?

Sharif will remain prime minister until an interim prime minister is selected. He and the leader of the opposition in parliament are going to choose a consensus leader to head the interim administration.

Under the constitution, they have until midnight on Saturday to reach an agreement. If they don’t, the decision will go to a parliamentary committee and finally to the Pakistan Election Commission to decide from a list given by both.

This process could take up to a week if an immediate consensus is not reached. The interim prime minister will then choose a cabinet to lead the main ministries.

Former Prime Minister Imran Khan, the country’s main opposition leader, will have no role in this process because members of his party give up of parliament last year to protest against his Easter in a vote of no confidence.

The opposition now consists of his party’s dissidents, including opposition leader Raja Riaz. khan is currently imprisoned for three years after being convicted on corruption charges and is forbidden to participate in any election for five years.

WILL THE ELECTIONS BE DELAYED?

The caretaker government must hold elections within 90 days. However, after the outgoing government approved a new census in its last days, the Electoral Commission must draw new electoral boundaries.

He exercise Drawing new boundaries for hundreds of federal and provincial constituencies in a country of 241 million people can take at least six months or more, according to a former commission official.

The Electoral Commission must announce how long it will take to complete the exercise, which may also involve candidate disputes over the new constituency formations, and based on that, give an election date.

WHAT IS THE ROLE OF THE MILITARY?

The military continues to play a very important role behind the scenes in the country. It has ruled Pakistan directly for more than three decades of the country’s 76 years of existence, and exercises extraordinary power over politics.

Political analysts fear that if the interim mandate extends beyond its constitutional mandate, a prolonged period without an elected government would allow the powerful military to consolidate its control.

WHO ARE THE MAIN COMPETITORS?

There are three main contenders to head the next government: Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Shehbaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).

With Khan in jail and barred from the polls, his PTI hopes to capitalize on the sympathy and anger of supporters and repeat his 2018 election victory. But amid a continuous confrontation With the military, the PTI’s prospects depend on a détente with the generals, which seems unlikely as it stands.

Three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif, brother of the outgoing prime minister and whose PML-N was the senior partner in the outgoing coalition government, is seeking to return from exile. But with a corruption conviction against him still in force, Shehbaz remains a frontrunner for a return to power.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, 34, the young PPP chairman and son of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, is another key candidate. He made waves locally and in key foreign capitals in his first government job as foreign minister in the outgoing government, and is widely seen as a future prime minister.

CHALLENGES BEFORE THE POLLS

economic stabilization is the main challenge with the $350 billion economy in a narrow recovery path after an International Monetary Fund bailout averted a sovereign debt default. Economic reforms have already boosted inflation and Interest rates.

political uncertainty is another major front after Khan’s imprisonment and ban. There was no violence after his arrest, unlike in May when his supporters were outragedbut his continued detention will cast doubt on the credibility of the elections.

Constitutional and legal questions are likely to arise if elections are delayed for more than 90 days, and an active Supreme Court is known to step in to interpret constitutional questions.

Reporting by Asif Shahzad; Edited by Gibran Peshimam and Raju Gopalakrishnan

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