Punjab Chief Minister Parvez Elahi, late on Wednesday night, secured the confidence of the minimum required 186 members of the provincial assembly, retaining his seat and paving the way for the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)’s stated intent to dissolve the assembly.
Earlier in the day, the Lahore High Court (LHC) had resumed hearing a petition filed by Elahi against Governor Balighur Rehman de-notifying him as chief minister for failing to take a vote of confidence. During the hearing, the court remarked that a governor had the authority to ask the chief minister to seek a trust vote at any point, even if the house was already in session. On Wednesday night, Punjab Senior Minister Mian Aslam Iqbal and Law Minister Basharat Raja moved the resolution for the trust vote, with 186 members of the provincial assembly voting in Elahi’s favor.
While the voting was underway, the opposition staged a walkout, maintaining that necessary legal requirements were not met, there was miscounting as they were not allowed to appoint polling agents, and that the Punjab governor’s order was sub-judice.
After securing the vote of confidence, Elahi thanked the lawmakers who had supported him, including members of his own Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid), the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and his provincial cabinet. However, the lead-up to the vote was marred by chaos, with lawmakers from both the treasury and opposition benches facing off and even breaking furniture as frustration over the drawn-out process mounted.
Prior to the vote, PTI leader Chaudhry Fawad Hussain announced that the government had sufficient numbers to proceed to the vote, adding that—barring any legal technicalities—the Punjab Assembly would be dissolved tomorrow (Thursday).
PA session
The day’s proceedings commenced around 5 p.m., with opposition lawmakers demanding the chief minister take the trust vote. Earlier, Interior Minister Rana Sanauallah—who witnessed the session from the gallery—had claimed that at least seven PTI MPAs were abroad as per travel records, and several were not in Lahore. However, the PTI eventually managed to transport two of its lawmakers to the city, achieving the necessary 186 votes.
Speaking with outside the assembly after the vote had commenced, Sanaullah said the government had maintained that the governor’s order was illegal and had challenged it in court. “Then how could they do this, after relaxing all the rules,” he questioned about the vote of confidence, adding that the opposition would challenge the night’s proceedings in court. He said the travel history of PTI lawmakers would be placed before court to prove that the votes of absent members were also cast. PMLN leader Attaullah Tarar also said that the PMLN would prove that the PTI didn’t have the required number to win the trust vote.
While Speaker Sibtain Khan had commenced the proceedings by assuring the opposition that no trust vote was forthcoming, opposition lawmakers told media they suspected attempts by Elahi to “manipulate” the vote. As a consequence, they remained in the house until the walkout, with the session continuing until midnight with two breaks.
After midnight, Deputy Speaker Wasiq Qayyum resumed proceedings and announced putting off the same to meet the legal requirement of summoning a fresh sitting for the new day, and accordingly issuing a new agenda for the sitting. Proceedings then resumed in earnest at 1:20 a.m., with the chief minister himself in attendance.
After the resolution was moved, the opposition started protesting once again, alleging that assembly secretary Inayatullah Lak had manipulated the count of those supporting the resolution and those who opposed it. Speaker Sibtain Khan then ordered the ringing of bells in the lobbies for five minutes to allow all MPAs to reach the assembly hall, whose entrances had been sealed as per rules.
The speaker then directed those who wished to vote for Elahi to walk through the ‘Ayes’ door. At this, PMLN MPA Malik Ahmad Khan, on a point of order, said the chair was violating the rules by not circulating copies of the fresh agenda among members as well as the press gallery. He also protested against the speaker not appointing polling agents from both the treasury and the opposition for a fair count of the MPAs supporting Elahi as chief minister.
The speaker rejected the opposition’s protests, triggering a fresh round of sloganeering and chaos, with some lawmakers also throwing chairs at the dais of Sibtain Khan. The opposition then boycotted the process and walked out of the house.