The ruling came in a reference filed by Speaker Punjab Assembly against those who voted the PML-N candidate for Chief Minister
By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Friday ruled that the 25 members of the Punjab provincial assembly who recently voted contrary to the position of their Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party have lost the membership of the august assembly.
The MPAs in question had voted for Hamza Shahbaz Sharif, the candidate of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), in the mid-April election of the provincial chief minister.
PML-N leader Hamza Shahbaz had secured 197 votes as opposed to the required number of 186 in the House of 371, meaning the support of PTI dissidents was key to his victory.
The due process over the reference has still some way to go as the ECP ruling is subject to appeal in the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
If and when the dissidents are de-seated, Hamza will lose his absolute majority in the House. However, his position seems secure since he will still have the support of the majority of the remaining members of the House.
Voting against party line is tantamount to defection in the Pakistani parliamentary tradition and attracts the penalty of being de-seated under article 61A of the Constitution, substituted in the Eighteenth Amendment.
Speaker of the Punjab Provincial Assembly Pervaiz Elahi had sent a reference over the defection of the said MPAs.
The dissidents had argued that they had not received any clear policy guidelines from the parliamentary party, and that the party could not move against them for voting any way in the absence of any direction.
However, the ECP unanimously upheld the reference against the defectors.
The ECP bench, headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, had reserved the verdict on Tuesday after listening to the arguments of PTI lawmakers.
The ECP ruling has gained special significance after the Supreme Court’s interpretation of Article 63(A), holding that the vote of dissident MPs cannot not be counted. However, it is still not clear if the new interpretation can be applied retrospectively.
Of the de-seated MPAs, 16 belong to disgruntled Jahangir Tareen group of PTI, five to Aleem Khan group, and four to Asad Khokhar group.
Earlier, the ECP, in its May 11 verdict rejected the disqualification reference against the MNAs of the PTI involved in floor crossing during the no-confidence motion against Imran Khan. The ECP said in its verdict that the reference against 20 MNAs of the PTI was not proved.
The de-seated MPAs
- Raja Sagheer Ahmed
- Malik Ghulam Rasool Sangha
- Saeed Akbar Khan
- Muhammad Ajmal
- Aleem Khan
- Nazeer Chohan
- Mohammad Ameen Zulqarnain
- Noman Langrial
- Mohammad Salman
- Zawar Warraich
- Nazeer Ahmed Khan
- Fida Hussain
- Zahra Batool
- Mohammad Tahir
- Ayesha Nawaz
- Sajida Yousuf
- Haroon Imran Gill
- Uzma Kardar
- Malik Asad
- Aijaz Masih
- Sibtain Raza
- Mohsin Ata Khan Khosa
- Mian Khalid Mehmood
- Mehr Mohammad Aslam
- Faisal Hayat
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