Pakistan: Boost for Imran Khan as SC rules against counting votes of defecting lawmakers

In a big blow to the ruling coalition in Pakistan, the country's Supreme Court ruled that the vote of any lawmaker that is cast against the party line will not be counted. The order of the 5-judge bench of the SC comprising Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justices Ijaz ul Ahsan, Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel, Munib Akthar and Jamal Khan Mandokhail came on the Presidential Reference seeking the interpretation of Article 63A and former PM Imran Khan's plea seeking lifetime disqualification of defectors. The SC observed that defections cannot be countenanced as they can delegitimize parliamentary democracy itself. 

Essentially, it held that a member of the National Assembly or the provincial Assembly will have to risk disqualification if he or she disobeys the party whip on the election of PM or CM, no-confidence motion, a money bill or a Constitutional amendment bill. Pakistan's apex court also advised the Parliament to enact a law barring defectors from contesting elections again, dubbing it a "proportionate response" to this practice. In the scenario that this order is applied retrospectively, the government in both the Centre as well as Punjab will have an uphill task to prove its majority.

For instance, the Shehbaz Sharif-led government's strength will be reduced to 171 seat in the 342-member House if the votes of two members of the PML(Q) which is a PTI ally are not counted. The PML(N)-led government in Punjab is in more danger though as Hamza Shehbaz was elected as the Chief Minister with 197 votes that includes 25 dissident PTI Members of Provincial Assembly. Buoyed by the SC verdict, many PTI leaders demanded fresh elections for the National Assembly and Punjab Assembly. 

Imran Khan ousted as Pakistan PM

Pakistan plunged into a constitutional crisis on April 3 as National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Khan Suri dismissed the no-confidence motion against Imran Khan without voting. In his detailed ruling, Suri claimed that the no-confidence motion is linked to the efforts of a foreign country to bring about a change of government in Pakistan. In a televised address immediately after the rejection of the no-trust motion, Khan revealed that he had advised President Arif Alvi to dissolve the National Assembly to pave way for fresh elections.

Subsequently, Alvi accepted this recommendation and asked Imran Khan to continue in office until a caretaker PM is appointed. However, the Pakistan Supreme Court unanimously held on April 7 that Suri's decision to disallow the no-trust motion was unconstitutional and restored the National Assembly. Ultimately, Imran Khan was ousted as the PM after 174 Members of the National Assembly recorded their vote in favour of the no-trust motion.