The process of formation of next government in Pakistan is expected to be completed by mid-March while the first session of the new Parliament may be convened on March 5 after the formal notification of the poll results by the Election Commission.
The poll panel is expected to notify the final results of the February 18 parliamentary elections for the general seats in the national and four provincial assemblies tomorrow, and for the seats reserved for women and minorities by March 3, caretaker Law Minister Afzal Haider said.
"The first session of the newly elected National Assembly is likely to be convened on March 5 according to the scheduled finalised so far," he said.
The process of formation of the new federal and all four provincial governments will be completed by mid-March, Haider said.
The National Assembly secretariat has completed all arrangements for convening the session on March 5 and there will be no delay by the Parliamentary Affairs Ministry as well, he said.
After the issuance of the final results for the general and reserved seats, a summary will be sent to the President to convene the session within a couple of days.
In the first session, the outgoing Speaker of the National Assembly, Chaudhry Ameer Hussain, will administer oath to the newly elected members. Haider made it clear that
the new members will take oath under the Constitution of 1973 and there would be "no ambiguity" on this issue.
The PML-N, which emerged the second largest party in the February 18 polls, has insisted that it wants the rolling back of all amendments made to the Constitution by President Pervez Musharraf during last year's emergency rule.
The first session of the National Assembly will last two days. On the first day, the new members will take oath and the election of the speaker and deputy speaker will be held on the second day.
The next session for the election of Prime Minister will be held in the second week of March after receiving consent from the single largest party of the National Assembly, Haider said. Musharraf will administer oath to the new Prime Minister and the ceremony will be held in the Presidency, he said.
The Election Commission will meet tomorrow to notify the results of the elections. Yesterday was the last day for candidates who won the polls to file statements on their assets and election expenses, which is mandatory for announcing the official results.
The delay in the formal declaration of the results has irked the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), PML-N and ANP, which are set to form government at the centre. The leaders of the three parties have urged the poll panel to immediately declare the results so that the National Assembly can be convened.
