ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday de-seated 25 dissident legislators belonging to former prime minister Imran Khan’s party who had defected and voted for opposition candidate Hamza Shehbaz in the election for the Punjab chief minister’s slot last month.
With these 25 lawmakers no longer members of the House, Shehbaz, who won an April 16 election for chief minister with the help of the dissident legislators, has lost his majority in the Punjab Assembly, raising questions about the status of his government.
Shehbaz, a member of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, got 197 votes in the chief minister’s election but is now left with the support of 172 members in the house. A candidate requires the support of at least 186 lawmakers in the 371-member House to be elected as the chief minister.
In a unanimous decision on Friday, ECP members said the PTI dissidents were being de-seated for defecting from the party under Article 63-A of the constitution. The Supreme Court of Pakistan, in its interpretation of Article 63-A, said earlier this week votes cast against the party direction “cannot be counted and must be disregarded.”
Following the ECP’s verdict, however, Federal Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, who belongs to the PML-N party, said the ECP’s decision would not impact the Punjab government as the PML-N and its coalition partners still had the support of 177 members.
“They [the dissidents] voted in broad daylight knowing the consequences,” Aurangzeb said at a press briefing after the verdict, adding that the disqualified members still had a right to challenge the election commission’s ruling,
Former Punjab Assembly speaker Pervaiz Elahi had filed a reference with the ECP against the dissident PTI lawmakers, requesting the electoral body to disqualify them for violating party discipline and deviating from its policy.
During the hearing of the reference, the dissident lawmakers justified their defection by saying they had never received any clear direction from the party head on voting for the Punjab chief minister. They also raised procedural objections, but the election commission ruled against them.
Speaking to the media after the verdict, PTI secretary-general and close Khan aide Asad Umar welcomed the decision and urged the federal government to announce fresh elections, arguing that the economy was deteriorating because of persisting political instability in the country and there was no justification left for the Punjab government to continue after the election commission’s verdict.
“Hamza Shehbaz has lost majority after the disqualification of 25 lawmakers, who are good for nothing now,” he said.
According to Article 63-A of the constitution, a parliamentarian can be disqualified on grounds of defection if he or she “votes or abstains from voting in the House contrary to any direction issued by the parliamentary party to which he belongs, in relation to election of the prime minister or chief minister; or a vote of confidence or a vote of no-confidence; or a money bill or a Constitution (amendment) bill.”
Muddassir Rizvi, head of programs at the non-profit Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN), said all constitutional positions in Punjab, including the chief minister and governor, had already been challenged in the courts.
“It is extremely difficult at the moment to ascertain who will take decisions in Punjab as the matter regarding the chief minister’s election is already pending in courts,” Rizvi told Arab News.
He said the Punjab governor could ask the chief minister to take a vote of confidence from the assembly after the disqualification of the lawmakers, adding:
“It is unknown at the moment who will be taking final decisions amid all this political uncertainty and instability.”
In its judgment, the ECP said it had two options: to ignore the completion of actus reus (voting in favor of opposite candidate) on the grounds of non-fulfilment of prerequisites as mentioned in Article 63-A and decline the declarations or hold that voting against party policies was a “serious matter” as observed by the Supreme Court.
“We are of the view that the casting of votes by the respondent[s] in favor of opposing candidate is a serious issue and worst form of betrayal of the electorate and party’s policy. Therefore, we hold that the defection in the subject cases shall not depend upon strict proof of observance of prerequisites as provided in Article 63-A.
“We have arrived at the conclusion that participation of the respondents in the election of chief minister of Punjab and casting their votes in favor of opposing candidate has established the factum of defection on the basis of the subject declarations against all the respondents.
“The declarations are confirmed and the respondents cease to be members of Punjab Assembly and their seats become vacant.”
The top court had ruled on May 17 that votes cast against party direction “cannot be counted and must be disregarded, and this is so regardless of whether the party head, subsequent to such vote, proceeds to take, or refrains from taking, action that would result in a declaration of defection.”
