Alvi’s successor may administer oath to new PM

ISLAMABAD: President Arif Alvi will not be administering the oath to the new prime minister as successor would be elected before the premier’s election.

The oath of members of the newly elected National Assembly could be held on February 26, three days before the deadline of summoning the house for its inaugural session while a similar exercise would be conducted on the following day.

The members, who have been elected for both the houses, would no longer be the members of the provincial assembly if they take the oath in the national legislature.

Well-placed parliamentary sources told The News Monday evening that the election of Senate’s 53 members, chairman/deputy chairman and consequently election of the president of the country has to be held before March 8, the time space will be limited for conducting the polls for slot of president.

The sources said that if the election of the president is held a week earlier, incumbent Arif Alvi will not but new president will administer the oath to the new prime minister. The sources pointed out that once the members of the National and provincial assemblies take oath, they would be eligible to cast their vote first for the election of the Senate members.

The sources have given the schedule for the whole process and told his reporter that the members of the assemblies will have to submit their expense details till February 18, notification of the elected members will be made till February 22.

The session in case of National Assembly could be held on February 26, while the provincial assemblies could be summoned on the same or following day. Once the oath is administered, they would become regular members of their respective houses. The process of Senate election will be initiated and that will take four days.

As soon the Senate oath will culminate, the schedule for president’s election will be started. On the other side, five days schedule for the election of speakers, deputy speakers and prime minister in case of National Assembly and chief ministers in the provincial assemblies will commence, the sources said.

It is pertinent to mention that President Arif Alvi declined to administer oath to Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif on August 14, 2022 and the Chairman Senate had to perform the function. Arif Alvi who avoided it under the pretext of his health issue, was present in the presidency during the oath taking and he watched it through a closed circuit TV system of the tall building. The sources reminded that the caretaker prime minister and cabinet members will stay in their respective office till the moment new prime minister takes oath.