NA session may be called between Feb 22-29: Solangi
He further clarified that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) was obligated to issue official results within 14 days of the elections
ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Minister for Information, Broadcasting, and Parliamentary Affairs Murtaza Solangi said on Wednesday that the first session of the new National Assembly might be called on any date between February 22 and February 29.
As per the Constitution, the president could convene the National Assembly’s session within 21 days of the polling date, the minister said while explaining the post-election procedures in a talk show on Pakistan Television.
Responding to a query, he mentioned that a simple majority was required to form a government, and the president did not have the power to invite a person or a party for the formation of a government. After the 18th Constitutional Amendment, he explained, the office of the president represented the Federation.
He further clarified that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) was obligated to issue official results within 14 days of the elections, and winning candidates were required to submit the necessary documents to the electoral watchdog in attested form. Failure to do so would result in the winning candidate not being declared an official member of the National Assembly.
He said that the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs would take up the matter of convening the session as soon as the National Assembly Secretariat received the official results from the ECP. Following the election of the speaker and deputy speaker, he noted that the leader of the house would be elected.
Regarding another query, he explained that secret balloting was followed in the election of the speaker and deputy speaker of the NA, while the process was different for the election of the leader of the house.
In response to a question about Maulana Fazlur Rehman, he stated that he was a seasoned politician and had announced his intention to be part of parliament.
The minister mentioned that most political parties had expressed consensus on Shehbaz Sharif as prime minister for the second time. He emphasized that it would be the prerogative of the next government to decide on the size of the federal cabinet. He stressed that economic stability was directly linked to political stability and expressed hope that the next government would continue the reform process.
