The Election Commission of Pakistan, which was set to deliver its verdict on Wednesday on references seeking the disqualification of 25 dissident MPAs of the PTI who voted for PML-N’s Hamza Shehbaz in the election for Punjab chief minister, postponed the announcement.
The ECP had reserved the verdict on Tuesday and stated that it would be announced at 12noon on Wednesday. However, the case was later de-listed from the Election Commission’s cause list for the day. The Election Commission’s verdict is particularly significant in light of the Supreme Court’s decision on a presidential reference seeking its interpretation of Article 63-A, related to the disqualification of lawmakers over defection. Article 63-A seeks to restrict lawmakers from voting (or abstaining) in violation of party instructions “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”.
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. If the 25 votes by PTI lawmakers are removed from his tally, he would lose his majority.
Following Hamza’s election as the chief minister on April 16, the PTI had sent a declaration for declaring the 25 MPAs as defectors to Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Parvez Elahi, who was also the PTI-PML-Q’s joint candidate for the CM Office.
