The Election Commission of Pakistan’s decision to de-seat 25 dissident MPAs of the PTI under Article 63A of the Constitution has raised more questions around the ‘legitimacy’ of Hamza Shehbaz’s election as the chief minister of Punjab. The declaration has pushed the country’s most populous province into a deeper crisis.
The decision comes days after the Supreme Court’s verdict on a presidential reference seeking its interpretation of Article 63-A, related to the disqualification of lawmakers over defection. In its interpretation of this Article, the apex court said votes cast against party direction cannot be counted and must be disregarded.
The votes of the 25 PTI dissidents had been instrumental in helping Hamza get over the line; he received a total of 197 votes while 186 votes are required for a simple majority. Since these 25 lawmakers are no longer members of the House, Hamza has lost his majority.
Constitutional lawyers say that this means that the magic number, required to show majority in the house, has also changed — from 186 to 174. That is because, Article 130(4) of the Constitution says: The Chief Minister shall be elected by the votes of the majority of the total membership of the Provincial Assembly.
Nonetheless, some are of the view that there was no court decision on how to interpret the words “total membership” in the Constitution. According to them, the number required to ensure majority in the house would remain at 186. However, irrespective of what the magic number may be, no side currently seems to have the required strength.
Punjab is in the midst of a profound crisis of governance for almost seven weeks now. The incumbent chief minister is struggling to put together his cabinet. On the other hand, the president has refused to accept the dismissal of the PTI governor by the federal government and appoint his successor.
The prime minister has advised President Alvi to appoint PML-N leader Balighur Rehman as Punjab governor. What complicates the matter even more is that the federal government notification to remove Cheema as governor also mentioned that the Punjab Assembly speaker shall perform the functions of the governor till the appointment of an incumbent.
But Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Parvez Elahi, who is also the PTI-PML-Q joint candidate for chief minister, will have to vacate his office for taking over as acting governor, and Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari was said to be inclined towards the PML-N.
It is clear that the country is facing huge internal and external challenges, and that it is time to heal old wounds and keep away from inflicting new ones. Unfortunately, our politicians do not seem to care.
