Senate chairman’s fate: Opposition has requisite numerical strength to eject Sanjrani

ISLAMABAD: The opposition has a comfortable numerical superiority in the Senate over the ruling coalition’s tally if it goes ahead with the All Parties Conference (APC) decision to vote out Upper House of Parliament Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani. A primary condition will be that all the opposition votes are cast in favour of its consensus nominee in the secret ballot. As per the calculations, theopposition parties, in the 103-member House, enjoy the support of sixty-one senators while the governing alliance has the backing of forty members. The chairman can be removed by the majority of the total membership. Thus the support of at least fifty-two senators will be required to carry the no-confidence motion. The two votes of the Jamaat-e-Islami can’t be counted in the basket of the opposition or the government as this party has embarked upon an “independent” policy. It stayed away from the APC and doesn’t stand with the government as well. Its Senate votes may go to either side or its MPs may even abstain.

Sanjrani doesn’t not belong to any political party and was elected as an independent senator. The numerical assets of the two sides apart, the chairman’s ouster, the first of its kind, will be a huge development that may stir the already charged political environment. It may further peak the confrontation. Already, the opposition’s domination in the Senate has debilitated the government to get any bill, disapproved by its rivals, passed from the Upper House.

The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) that had played a key role in getting Sanjrani elected in March, 2018 will be instrumental in getting rid of him. At the time, the PPP role had surprised many as the party – Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) – that, according to the parliamentary traditions, had the right to get the position with the support of some other groups, had been deprived of it just because of the stand taken by former President Asif Ali Zardari. Then, the relations between the PPP and PML-N, now hard-pressed due to institution of criminal cases against their top leaders and their incarceration, were highly strained while the two parties have now cozies up to each other and are willing to team up.

The opposition alliance comprises the PML-N with twenty-nine senators, PPP with twenty MPs, National Party of Mir Hasil Bizenjo with five members, Jamiate Ulemae Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) with four senators, Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) of Mehmood Achakzai with two legislators and Awami National Party (ANP) of Asfandyar Wali with one MP.

The top representatives of all these parties attended Wednesday’s APC hosted by JUI-F Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman where the unanimous decision to dump Sanjrani was firmed up.

The support that the ruling coalition will get in case a no-confidence motion against Sanjrani is moved and voted upon will come the PTI with fourteen senators, Balochistan with nine MPs (who are listed as independents), Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) with five members, Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) with two lawmakers, and Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) and PML-Functional with one legislator each and eight tribal areas’ senators.

Under the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Senate, not less than one-fourth of the total membership of the Upper House may give to its Secretary written notice of a motion for leave to move a resolution for the chairman’s removal. The Secretary will forthwith circulate the notice to the members. After the notice has been received, the Senate will not be adjourned to a date later than seven clear days excluding closed holidays.

No other item will be included in the orders of the day for the day fixed for a motion for leave to move the resolution. Such a Chairman will not preside over the Senate sitting in which the resolution is fixed for consideration. The Presiding Officer (PO) will call upon the first available member on the list of movers to move the motion, on his behalf and on behalf of such other members. Immediately after it has been moved, the PO will call such of the members as may be in favour of the leave being granted to rise in their seats and, if at least one-fourth of them does not so rise, he will declare that the member has not the leave or, if such membership so rises, call upon the member concerned to move the resolution. Except with the PO’s permission, a member will not speak on the resolution for more than fifteen minutes.

However, the mover of the resolution and the Chairman may speak for thirty minutes or such longer time as the PO may permit. The Senate will not be adjourned until the motion for leave is disposed of or, if leave is granted, the resolution has been voted upon. The Chairman will stand removed from his office on the resolution being passed by a majority of the total membership of the Senate.