— With Damocles sword of Supreme Court defections ruling hanging over Hamza Shehbaz, his future as Punjab chief minister hangs in balance
ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will announce 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 top election agency was scheduled to deliver its verdict on Wednesday but postponed it after the Supreme Court, while announcing its verdict on a presidential reference seeking its interpretation of Article 63-A of the Constitution, ruled that votes cast by lawmakers against the instructions of their parliamentary party cannot be counted and must be disregarded.
The commission reportedly approached the Supreme Court to secure a copy of the verdict to decide on the reference.
Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja also chaired a meeting where the apex court’s verdict was mulled over.
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.
