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ECP de-seats PTI's 25 dissident MPAs from Punjab Assembly

ECP de-seats PTI's 25 dissident MPAs from Punjab Assembly
May 20, 2022 Web Desk

ISLAMABAD (92 News) – The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) de-seated 25 dissident MPAs belonging to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in the Punjab Assembly.

The verdict was announced unanimously.

Announcing the reserved verdict on Friday, the ECP ruled that the dissident MPAs had violated the Article 63-A by voting for Hamza Shehbaz.

The dissident PTI MPAs are: Raja Sagheer Ahmed, Malik Ghulam Rasool Sangha, Saeed Akbar Khan, Mohammad Ajmal, Abdul Aleem Khan, Nazir Ahmed Chohan, Muhammad Amin Zulqernain, Malik Nauman Langrial, Muhammad Salman, Zawar Hussain Warraich, Nazir Ahmed Khan, Fida Hussain, Zahra Batool, Muhammad Tahir, Aisha Nawaz, Sajida Yousaf, Haroon Imran Gill, Uzma Kardar, Malik Asad Ali, Ijaz Masih, Muhammad Sabtain Raza, Mohsin Atta Khan Khosa, Mian Khalid Mehmood, Mehar Mohammad Aslam and Faisal Hayat.

Article 63-A

According to Article 63-A of the Constitution, a parliamentarian can be disqualified on grounds of defection if he "votes or abstains from voting in the House contrary to any direction issued by the parliamentary party to which he belongs, 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 Article says that the party head has to declare in writing that the MNA concerned has defected but before making the declaration, the party head will "provide such member with an opportunity to show cause as to why such declaration may not be made against him".

After giving the member a chance to explain their reasons, the party head will forward the declaration to the speaker, who will forward it to the chief election commissioner (CEC). The CEC will then have 30 days to confirm the declaration. If confirmed by the CEC, the member "shall cease to be a member of the House and his seat shall become vacant".

According to the Article, any party that is aggrieved with the Election Commission's decision can file an appeal in the Supreme Court within a month. The apex court has 90 days to decide the matter.