PTI and the opposition failed to hold the necessary consultations, hence ECP may serve as the final arbiter in the K-P interim set-up.
The chief minister and opposition leader in the defunct provincial legislature were unable to consult on Wednesday to put together a caretaker setup because of the collapse of the K-P Assembly.
Nevertheless, both parties acknowledged that they were holding a number of internal meetings.
Sources claimed that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) might be the one to decide the outcome because the two candidates’ “unbridgeable” political disagreements would continue to be a barrier. They said that it appeared that neither party wanted to reach a consensus.
Governor Haji Ghulam Ali signed and accepted Chief Minister Mahmood Khan’s summary for the dissolution of the province legislature, which resulted in the dissolution of the provincial assembly.
In accordance with Clause 1 of Article 112 of the Constitution, the assembly and provincial government were dissolved with immediate effect, the governor notified Chief Minister Mahmood and Leader of the Opposition Akram Khan Durrani.
According to the law, the governor must dissolve the provincial legislature upon the chief minister’s recommendation. If the governor doesn’t act sooner, the provincial assembly will be dissolved 48 hours after the chief minister’s recommendation.
According to the announcement, Mahmood and Durrani will be consulted before the governor named the caretaker CM. The governor requested that they submit their list of candidates for the position by January 21.
Mahmood will remain in office to handle the province’s daily business till the caretaker CM is appointed.
In this context, PTI sources claimed that CM Mahmood was holding protracted discussions with his provincial cabinet colleagues to come to a decision.
On the other hand, the leader of the opposition, Akram Khan Durrani, also acted quickly and got in touch with Maulana Fazlur Rahman, other party members, and the heads of other opposition groups.
Both parties must settle on a caretaker CM by Friday, January 20. If, however, this does not occur, the issue will be referred to the speaker-appointed parliamentary committee, which will review the nominations in three days.
According to the legal process, the speaker will need to choose three MPAs from the opposition and the outgoing ruling party to each of the six members of the committee.
The ECP would be tasked with selecting the interim CM if a compromise could not be reached.
