LAHORE: The Punjab Assembly will elect the chief minister of the province on Saturday (today) as two political heavyweights, opposition leader Hamza Shehbaz Sharif and outgoing Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, are in the run.
Deputy Speaker Mir Dost Muhammad Mazari will chair the Punjab Assembly session after a division bench of the Lahore High Court rejected a petition of Pervaiz Elahi, asking it to stop the deputy speaker from chairing the session.
The court directed the deputy speaker to facilitate national and international observers, media persons, representatives of PILDAT, Fafen and other organisations during the election.
Pervaiz Elahi and other PML-Q leaders had challenged a decision of a single bench, which allowed the deputy speaker to preside over the session despite that he had himself approached the court seeking permission to conduct the election. They argued that a no-confidence motion had been filed against the deputy speaker. The bench rejected the argument of the appellants to conduct of the assembly session through the panel of chairmen, saying the panel could chair the proceedings only when the speaker and the deputy speaker were not present. The court also rejected the plea that Mazari is facing a no-confidence motion, observing that since the assembly session scheduled for April 16 would not consider the no confidence motion, he could not be considered incompetent to preside over the session.
The judgment observed, “It is very strange to note that on the one hand the appellants are of the view that the court cannot intrude into the internal affairs of the assembly but on the other are pressing hard for passing an order in violation of the Rules, 1997.” The bench ordered the chief secretary and the inspector general of police to ensure foolproof security for the day of election. IG Police Rao Sardar Ali submitted before the court that all possible measures had been taken for safe and smooth arrival of MPAs to the assembly whereas internal security was ensured for the secretary of the assembly in coordination with the security staff. Chief Secretary Kamran Ali Afzal informed the court that all departments had been directed to facilitate the election. The bench observed that in the event of complaint by any side, rapid action shall be taken against the delinquents.
Meanwhile, Mazari has also issued a ruling, allowing the media to cover the session. Mazari, who was elected on a Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) ticket, is now in its rival camp. His own party MPAs had submitted a no-confidence motion against him. The contest is also significant as a record number of disqualifications are expected after it as MPAs voting against the party line will have to face disqualification. Even if the PTI-PMLQ coalition candidate wins with a narrow margin, the PTI MPAs who would vote against the party line could get re-elected and challenge the majority in the House again. In this way, a political crisis is feared in Punjab if the ruling party wins.
The opposition has fielded Hamza Shehbaz for the CM's slot, who enjoys the support of majority of legislators in the House that comprises 371 members. Already, Hamza's father, Shehbaz Sharif, who was serving as the Opposition Leader in the National Assembly, has been elected as the 23rd Prime Minister of the country after a successful no-confidence motion against Imran Khan. Hamza Shehbaz needs the support of at least 186 MPAs in the House to be the next chief executive of the province and his party claims that he will get even more than 200 votes.
In the last contest for the CM's slot that took place on August 19, 2018, PTI's Sardar Usman Buzdar had won the election bagging 186 votes, whereas Hazma Shehbaz got 159 votes. Seven MPAs of the PPP had abstained and the House stood at 361 then as 10 seats were vacated. Now with the full House comprising 371 MPAs, the PMLN is highly optimistic of regaining the crown of Punjab. Pervaiz Elahi, the joint candidate of the PTI and PMLQ, is also in high spirits and hopeful of his election as the CM for a second term. He had served as the Punjab CM between 2002 and 2007. He is regularly holding meetings with PTI MPAs but the disadvantage he is facing is a split in the ranks of PTI, whose around 30 MPAs have revolted against the party. Most of them are siding with the group of Jehangir Tareen, who has joined hands with the PMLN. Similarly, a group of MPAs headed by former Senior Minister Abdul Aleem Khan, has also joined the PMLN. All of them have decided to vote against the party line and are ready to accept disqualification. It is pertinent to mention that under the law, any member who votes against the party line will face disqualification and most PTI MPAs, who are supporting the PMLN, have been promised the party ticket for by-polls in which they have to return to PA to ensure that their party doesn't lose majority. The plan is to get elected in the by-polls on PMLN tickets and serve the rest of the term as MPAs of the PMLN.
The opposition claims that its joint strength comprising its own 160 MPAs (PMLN’s total strength is 165 out of which 5 MPAs are siding with the government), seven MPAs of the PPP and the rest from the rebel groups of the PTI headed by Jehnagir Khan Tareen and Abdul Aleem Khan and four out of five independents, stands above 188. On the other hand, the coalition candidate is also using his political experience. He has succeeded in winning the support of Tareen group MPAs and MPA Rafaqat Gilani, a part of the group has claimed that he is “siding with Imran Khan and cannot leave him in crucial times.” Rafaqat Gilani, on the last day when polling was scheduled on April 3, had claimed that nearly five to six MPAs of the Tareen group, who are PTI MPAs, would vote for Pervaiz Elahi. Rafaqat Gilani had reached the PA along with Chaudhry Moonis Elahi, son of Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi. On the other hand, Malik Nauman Langrial, Saeed Niwani, Ch Zawar, Tahir Randhawa and many other MPAs of the PTI have openly announced their support to Hamza.
According to the outgoing Law Minister Raja Basharat, the rules were clear and anyone voting against the party line would be disqualified. He claimed the government had the majority and the opposition had the support of around 165 members. He said the opposition could even claim the support of 200 MPAs but its own ranks were facing a split.
