In Pakistan, Prime Minister Imran Khan calls for early elections – Le Monde

Security agents patrol in front of the Parliament in Islamabad, April 3, 2022. AAMIR QURESHI / AFP It is a coup de theater, but it is not certain that the meticulously prepared maneuver will save the Pakistani Prime Minister. Imran Khan, who has lost his majority in the National Assembly in recent days, with the defection of his allies but also of members of his own party, provoked early elections on Sunday, April 3. MPs were due to consider a no-confidence motion tabled by the opposition and meant to bring down cricket’s former glory, when National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri, one of his loyalists, refused to register it vote, declaring the motion unconstitutional because it was supported by a “foreign power”. Read also: Article reserved for our subscribers In Pakistan, Prime Minister Imran Khan is getting closer to leaving A few minutes later, in an address to the nation, Mr. Khan said he was the victim of an international conspiracy and announced that he asked the President of the Republic to dissolve the National Assembly and to organize early general elections. “Prepare for elections. No corrupt force will decide the future of the country. The people decide who they want in power,” he said. Re-legitimising oneself at the polls The President of the Republic, Arif Alvi, complied immediately. The lower house of parliament was dissolved. The Prime Minister should expedite day-to-day business until the election is held within a maximum of ninety days, i.e. one year before the normal deadline – the general elections were scheduled for spring 2023. Taken aback, the opposition has decided to seize the Supreme Court, which could examine the case as early as Monday, April 4. “This date will be remembered as a black day in the constitutional history of Pakistan. Democracy has been hit and damaged in a very, very brutal way,” lamented Shahbaz Sharif, leader of the Pakistan Muslim League and who was slated as the favorite to replace Imran Khan if the no-confidence motion is successful. At 69, the latter, escaping the humiliation of a vote of no confidence, hopes to regain his legitimacy through the ballot box. The operation is risky. Coming to power in 2018 with the support of the military, he has not kept his promises to revive the economy in favor of the poor, to create jobs for young people, to put an end to the endemic corruption which is eating away at the country, to not to resort to external loans. Pakistan is weakened by a serious economic crisis, marked by unemployment and record inflation (more than 12% this year), particularly in food and energy, a weakening of the rupee and crushing debt. The poor and the middle classes are the first victims. You have 59.1% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.