ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) reserved its verdict on a reference seeking the disqualification of 25 Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers who crossed the floor and voted for Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) vice president Hamza Shehbaz during the election for the office of Punjab chief minister.
The commission said it will announce the verdict at 12:00 pm on Wednesday.
Shehbaz was elected as the province’s new chief executive on April 16 after a chaotic session of the Punjab Assembly where legislators of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) scuffled with one another.
He polled 197 votes — including from 24 PTI parliamentarians, two independents and the lone Rah-i-Haq Party lawmaker — while his opponent, Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, a joint candidate of the PTI and Q League, failed to secure a single vote from the assembly since the two parties boycotted the voting process.
Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi on Wednesday sent to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) a reference against 26 Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers seeking their lifetime disqualification on charges of violating party discipline.
PTI lawmakers who voted in favour of Shehbaz included Abdul Aleem Khan, Asad Khokhar, Nauman Langrial, Ejaz Alam Augustine, Ajmal Cheema, Saeed Akbar, Faisal Jawana, and Zawar Warraich, among others.
The reference, however, couldn’t be applied to independent lawmakers including Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Ahmed Ali, Jugnu Mohsin, Bilal Asghar Warraich and Raja Sagheer.
Subsequently, on April 20, Speaker Elahi forwarded to the commission the reference against the defecting lawmakers seeking their lifetime disqualification under Article-63 of the Constitution on charges of violating party discipline.
