PTI, JUI-F defectors vote in favour of revised amendments despite opposition’s objection amid noisy protest
Saifullah Ansar
ISLAMABAD: The Senate on Thursday approved the 27th Constitutional Amendment Bill, following changes approved by the National Assembly day earlier, amid noisy protest by the opposition.
Federal Minister for Law Azam Nazeer Tarar presented the constitutional amendment bill again today, with the tweaks to the draft earlier approved by the upper house. The amendment bill received the 64 votes (two-thirds majority in the 96-member House) in favour and four against.
As the session kicked off with Senate Chairman Yousuf Raza Gilani presiding, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senator Ali Zafar maintained that his party and JUI-F defectors are disqualified under Article 63-A of the Constitution as they, in the previous session claimed on the floor of the house that they had resigned.
“If they have indeed resigned and the article applies, I request that the votes of these two members not be counted [during the re-voting]. Otherwise, we will challenge the entire process,” he added.
Meanwhile, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl’s (JUI-F) Senator Kamran Murtaza said that if someone votes against party lines and a resignation is sought from him under Article 63-A, then those who wish to vote against the party should follow proper procedures.
Tarar, however, disagreed, saying that the objection of PTI and JUI-F that a member is automatically disqualified under Article 63-A for voting against party lines is incorrect. He explained that the party head can submit a reference to the presiding officer or speaker under the Constitution. “We shouldn’t twist the Constitution for political point scoring,” he added.
He further explained the process, saying that the presiding officer has two days to examine a written reference submitted by the party head and forward it to the Election Commission. The party head must also conduct a hearing with the defector for voting against party directives, as sometimes instructions are not properly communicated. The matter is then sent to the Election Commission, where a formal hearing is conducted. The member concerned can appeal a deseating decision in the Supreme Court.
“Until the process is formally completed in black and white, the member remains in office,” Tarar added. He also noted that a senator who resigns must submit it in writing to the Senate chairman and satisfy him. The Senate chairman clarified that he has not yet received any resignation.
A day earlier, the National Assembly passed the amendment bill that seeks to change the judicial structure and military command, with 234 votes in favour and four against amid opposition’s walkout. It included eight amendments — not part of the Senate-approved previous version — aimed at clarifying the chief justice’s position.
The amended bill fine-tunes the structure of the newly established Federal Constitutional Court (FCC), clarifies the titles and ranking of the country’s top judges, and drops several clauses from the Senate-approved draft that had sought to alter oath-related provisions for various constitutional offices.
