Pakistan will go to the polls in the first half of January after a neutral caretaker government is put in place to supervise the election process, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said today.

The caretaker government, whose members will not be allowed to contest the general election, will be formed after the national and provincial assemblies complete their term on November 15, Aziz told journalists at an iftar dinner hosted for the media at Prime Minister’s House here.

“A caretaker set-up will be put in place to ensure a free, fair and transparent election and it will not be part of the future set-up as (its members) cannot contest the next election,” Aziz said, adding that poll will be held between January 1 and 15.

Polls, according to the constitution, will have to be held within 60 days of the end of the tenure of the outgoing assemblies and a new government sworn in.

“We hope that the PML and its allies will again make it up to the top,” the Prime Minister said.
President Pervez Musharraf has already begun consultations with key aides like Aziz and PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain on choosing non-political personalities who will be part of the interim government.