LAHORE: Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, the chief minister of Punjab, won a vote of confidence from parliament early on Thursday in a session marked by an opposition boycott of the vote and clashes between government supporters and opposition leaders.
He was able to secure 186 votes, the speaker of the house, Sibtain Khan, announced.
The session, which was called three days ago, continued after midnight so that the coalition government of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) could hold the confidence vote for Elahi.
Speaker Khan, who presided over the session, said that Elahi had received 186 votes — exactly the number required to retain his position and one less than 187 that PTI leaders had claimed to have prior to voting.
الحمداللہ! تحریک انصاف نے عادی شکست خوردہ ٹولے کو ایک بار پھر عبرت ناک شکست دے دی۔
تحریک انصاف اور ق لیگ کے 186 اراکین اسمبلی کا چوہدری پرویز الہٰی پر مکمل اعتماد کا اظہار۔ pic.twitter.com/pchLvTOHom
— Fawad Chaudhry (Updates) (@FawadPTIUpdates) January 11, 2023
Ahead of the voting, government and opposition lawmakers had renewed hostilities around the speaker’s dais and engaged each other in angry jostling. Shortly after, the opposition MPAs staged a boycott of the session and walked out.
Outside the Punjab Assembly, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah labelled the session’s proceedings “against the rules and Constitution”, and accused the speaker of “bulldozing” the vote of confidence.
Sanaullah and another PML-N leader, Ataullah Tarar, said the vote will be challenged in the court.
Earlier, PTI Vice President Fawad Chaudhry said late Wednesday night that the PTI-PML-Q coalition had the requisite numbers for Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi to secure a vote of confidence from the Punjab Assembly, adding that the proceedings would begin shortly.
The development came hours after the Lahore High Court (LHC) extended the “interim relief” of reinstating Elahi as chief minister till Jan 12, adding that the chief minister couldn’t dissolve the assembly until 9:00 am Thursday.
Speaking from the assembly hall, where the session was extended by another hour, Fawad said: “The numbers for the confidence vote are complete.”
He said that the PTI-PML-Q alliance was currently waiting for some lawmakers who were en route to the PA from various other cities in the province. He said that the confidence vote would be held as soon as they arrived.
Fawad also said that from a legal perspective, the vote could be held at any time since the session was still underway. He commended lawmakers for rejecting bribes offered to switch their loyalties.
Fawad said CM Elahi was also on his way to the PA and the PTI wanted to get the proceedings “over with”.
When asked about the plan of action if the confidence vote was held, Fawad said the party would then withdraw the petition from the high court and forward the summaries for dissolving the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies by Thursday morning.
انشاء اللہ ہم اپنے ایجنڈے پر کاربند ہیں، اب اگر کوئی قانونی رکاوٹ نہ ہوئی تو کل پنجاب اسمبلی تحلیل ہو جائے گی، پھر اسکے ساتھ کے پی اسمبلی تحلیل ہو جائے گی، نیشنل الیکشن ہمارا مقصد ہے اور پھر ہم اسی کی طرف بڑھیں گے۔@fawadchaudhry#ریڈ_لائن_مٹا_دی pic.twitter.com/Jh7BYAe94o
— Fawad Chaudhry (Updates) (@FawadPTIUpdates) January 11, 2023
Questioned about his thoughts on the possibility of the confidence vote not being held, Fawad said: “God willing we will take it. We are only waiting for two MPAs [to arrive].”
Meanwhile, Fawad also took to Twitter to say that the “number of 187 is complete”.
In another tweet, he said that according to the directives issued by the LHC, Elahi could seek a vote of confidence “at any time”.
“For weeks the PML-N was demanding we show 186 lawmakers. Now when the time has come to show the numbers, why are you running?”
Earlier today, the PA session chorused for the third day with the opposition’s demands for the chief minister to take a vote of confidence.
The session began after a delay of almost two hours with Speaker Khan presiding over it.
Addressing the session, PPP MPA Syed Usman Mehmood said that the “minority government” was requested to take a confidence vote and then a period for questions could be held as well.
PML-N lawmaker Raheela Khadim Hussain refused to speak during the question and answers session and instead requested that the confidence vote be taken first.
The PA speaker said that the government would take a confidence vote but first the Lahore High Court (LHC) should be allowed to make the final decision on the matter tomorrow.
He said the government could not remain in power if it did not take a confidence vote and told the opposition to bring a no-confidence motion to settle the matter.
ن لیگی ایم پی اے اسمبلی کے دروازے توڑ کر باہر نکل گیے، معاملہ عدالت لے جانے کا اعلان #PunjabAssembly pic.twitter.com/5NfZripmzv
— Raftar (@raftardotcom) January 11, 2023
Meanwhile, PTI MPA Sardar Shahabuddin Khan lashed out at the opposition for causing a ruckus and said it had nothing to do with assembly proceedings. The PA speaker concurred and said that the lawmakers who do not allow the assembly business to continue should be suspended.
As the opposition lawmakers chanted slogans and came face-to-face with government MPAs, the PA speaker urged them to return to their seats, and warned them of action against them.
At one point, Punjab Parliamentary Affairs Minister Basharat Raja also attempted to placate the opposition members, who continued with their sloganeering to force the chief minister into taking a confidence vote.
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said that contrary to the claims made by the PTI, Elahi did not have the support of 186 lawmakers.
Speaking to the media in Lahore prior to the start of the assembly session, he asserted that six to seven PTI MPAs were abroad and the federal government had their travel records to prove it.
Speaking alongside him, Special Assistant to Prime Minister Ata Tarar said that 12 lawmakers from the PTI-PML-Q coalition were not present in Lahore, adding that he had the data and the evidence to back his claim.
Tarar warned the PTI-PML-Q coalition from staging an act similar to that “staged by Qasim Suri in the National Assembly”.
Meanwhile, PTI Chairman Imran Khan was all praise for PTI-PML-Q MPAs in a video address to a parliamentary party session.
He praised them and CM Elahi for continuing to support the PTI despite the pressure being exerted on them to switch sides. Imran said that PTI MPAs from Muzaffargarh and Gujrat had informed him about attempts to threaten and bribe them to join the PML-N.
The PTI chief alleged that PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari was behind the attempts to get lawmakers to switch sides. “I should thank him for cleansing our party of bad eggs,” Imran quipped.
The PTI chairman also welcomed and praised independent MPA Bilal Warraich for joining the government coalition.
He expressed hope that the coalition would be successful in the confidence vote, adding that it would be taken soon in a day or two.
After Imran’s announcement of the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies’ dissolution, the coalition leaders had sprung into action to prevent Elahi from dissolving the PA.
In a double-edged move on December 20, the governor had asked the chief minister to obtain a vote of confidence from the Punjab Assembly, while PML-N and PPP lawmakers had submitted a separate no-trust resolution against him in a bid to bar him from dissolving the assembly.
These are the historic moments. A great win for civil supremacy. pic.twitter.com/QBKXnjtb3E
— Hammad Azhar (@Hammad_Azhar) January 11, 2023
However, PA Speaker Sibtain Khan had termed the governor’s orders as “illegal, against the provisions of the Constitution and thus stand disposed of”.
In his two-page ruling, the speaker maintained that the governor’s orders were not in accordance with Article 54(3) and Article 127. “The house is in session since Oct 23, 2022, and under Articles 54(3) and 127. No fresh session can be convened unless and until the current one ends,” the order read.
Subsequently, on Dec 21, the Punjab governor termed the speaker’s ruling “unconstitutional”.
In a late-night move on Dec 23, the governor had de-notified Elahi. In an order, he said: “Consequent to the facts that Ch. Parvez Elahi … refrained from obtaining the vote of confidence at 1600 hours yesterday (Wednesday), in line with an order under Article 130(7) of the Constitution … issued under my hand on Dec 19, 2022, in line with Rule 22(7) of the Rules of Procedure of provincial assembly of Punjab, 1997, and that he still has not done so even after the lapse of another 24 hours, I am satisfied that he does not command the confidence of the majority of the members of the Punjab Assembly, and therefore ceases to hold his office with immediate effect.”
As a result, “the provincial cabinet stands dissolved forthwith”, he had said.
Subsequently, CM Elahi had approached the LHC, saying the move was “unconstitutional, unlawful and of no legal effect”.
At the previous hearing, the LHC had reinstated the PML-Q leader as the chief minister and restored the provincial cabinet as an “interim relief” after he submitted an undertaking assuring the court that he would not dissolve the provincial assembly until the next hearing (Jan 11).
During the hearing today, the court extended the relief granted to Elahi till Thursday (Jan 12), 9:00 am. It also said that the chief minister could not dissolve the assembly during this time.
