After much ado, Elahi demonstrates that he has the majority.
The governing coalition has demonstrated that it has the support of 186 legislators.
After weeks of political upheaval in Punjab, Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi demonstrated his majority in the provincial assembly by winning the much-anticipated vote of confidence amidst commotion and the opposition’s boycott in the small hours of Thursday.
With 186 MPs voting in favour of the combination of the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), which was the requisite number of votes to win the confidence vote, the vote of confidence that started after midnight came to an end.
Elahi would cast the vote “shortly,” according to PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry, and the deputy speaker would then confirm it. The discussion then picked back up, and Raja Basharat, the law minister, presented the resolution to the house. The voting started once the members were invited to the house.
Members of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) gathered around the speaker’s dais when the resolution was being introduced and yelled epithets. Members of the opposition staged a walkout as soon as voting began.
The opposition members surged out of the lobby by kicking down the door. They demonstrated against the government in front of the assembly building.
Despite disagreements among lawmakers on both sides, the administration carried out the vote at midnight even though the case was still pending in court. The government appeared committed to holding the poll notwithstanding the commotion that ensued.
An earlier session of the provincial assembly’s business was disrupted by commotion. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) urged that the chief minister take the vote of confidence as soon as the proceedings got underway.
The main opposition party insisted on having the voting take place before the Question Hour notwithstanding Speaker Sibtain Khan’s statement that the court will make the decision.
This has been going on for three days, the PTI legislators noted. The opposition then surrounded the speaker’s podium and tore up agenda documents. The PML-N raised objections when the treasury benches enacted a bill after a recess.
The opposition party once more surrounded the speaker’s dais and demanded that the government demonstrate its majority. Then the security team defended the speaker.
Later, the speaker began tallying the figures at the opposition’s demand. It was determined that the ruling coalition had a majority. The outcome was the same after a recount, which required the MPs to leave their seats. The PML-N then urged for the proceedings to be postponed until Thursday.
In the meantime, Rana Sanaullah, the federal interior minister, was observed chatting with Khalil Tahir Sindhu in the gallery. This was brought up by Basharat, who said that a conspiracy was being forged there and charged Sanaullah with being in charge of the entire enterprise.
The PML-N, on the other hand, continued in its request for a postponement. The broad debate was requested by the speaker, and it was accepted by everybody. Thus, a general conversation about price increases and the current political environment was held.
Several politicians from the treasury benches, including Dr. Yasmin Rashid and Fayazul Hassan Chohan, took part in the discussion and accused the PML-N of damaging the nation’s economy and putting it in the predicament it is now in.
The PML-N requested that the session be adjourned repeatedly, but the speaker was adamant that it go.
It is important to note that Imran Khan, the chairman of the PTI, declared the dissolution of all legislatures where his party holds a majority in an effort to pressure the federal government into scheduling early elections.
Considering how the present administration was constituted, the situation in Punjab was a little more complicated even though the party continues to hold a clear majority in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P).
Balighur Rehman, the governor of Punjab, had requested a vote of confidence from Chief Minister Elahi. He was afterwards de-notified for not carrying it out.
However, the ruling party brought the matter before the Lahore High Court (LHC). The court reinstated Elahi after he promised to postpone dissolving the assembly until the following hearing on January 11.
