Prime Minister Imran Khan and National Assembly Opposition Leader Shehbaz Sharif and other political bigwigs have arrived at the Parliament House to attend a joint session that is expected to take up crucial legislation, including the controversial Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) law.
The joint sitting will take up 59 items, including roughly two dozen bills.
The joint session was supposed to take place on Nov 11 but was cancelled by the government much to the opposition’s chagrin after its allies expressed reservations. However, after taking all allies on board, President Arif Alvi summoned the session today at noon.
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairperson, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, is also in attendance along with his father Asif Ali Zardari, the co-chairperson of the PPP that rules Sindh.
Ahead of the session, Bilawal called on Shehbaz at his chambers to discuss the strategy to defeat the government that enjoys a slight majority in the House.
Parliamentary meeting of PTI
During the parliamentary meeting of the PTI, Prime Minister Imran Khan appeared to be confident of victory.
The prime minister said the government has the required majority to get the bills passed while directing members to ensure their presence in the House.
The PM said the right of vote to overseas Pakistanis and electronic voting machines will empower the democratic process, adding that the proposed legislation favoured Pakistan, not any individuals.
Imran said the government wanted to bring laws that would end the controversy surrounding elections since the 1970s. “We want to bring a system that would make electoral results acceptable to all political parties,” he added.
After the meeting, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said the PTI lawmakers expressed their complete trust in the leadership of PM Imran.
“The government enjoys a majority in the joint session,” he said, adding that the bills will be passed with ease.
“EVMs and right of vote to overseas Pakistan are two very important pieces of legislation,” Fawad said and added that the premier was committed to getting these bills passed.
According to the minister, the PTI was the only party that favoured voting rights for expatriates.
He thanked the allies and party lawmakers who ensured their presence for the joint session despite prior commitments.
Fawad also took a dig at the opposition, saying the joint opposition was a victim of internal rifts and today’s session would act as a catalyst to exacerbate these divisions.
Meanwhile, the opposition is apprehensive of the alleged “arm-twisting” in the lead-up to the session. In a tweet, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) senator, Sherry Rehman, alleged that the government was using pressure tactics to ensure its majority in the House.
A manufactured majority in parliament starts crippling the system.But not just the system. So much arm-twisting going on in the capital right now by the shaky “Govt” that Islamabad’s orthopaedic surgeons should be on alert.Opposition is United & picking up steam.#Bulldozersession
— SenatorSherryRehman (@sherryrehman) November 17, 2021
“A manufactured majority in parliament starts crippling the system. But not just the system. So much arm-twisting going on in the capital right now by the shaky “Govt” that Islamabad’s orthopaedic surgeons should be on alert.” She, however, said that the opposition was “united” against the government.
Shehbaz writes letter to NA speaker
PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif also wrote a letter to NA speaker Asad Qaiser, expressing dismay that the government was not sincere about consensus on legislation.
“I had provided a comprehensive proposal to achieve consensus on the bills referred to the joint sitting of parliament; unfortunately, no response was received…which creates doubt about your intentions.”
“Instead of considering our proposal,…late last night we received less than 16 hours notice from your office that the joint sitting of parliament had been called to meet at 12pm today. Is this how consensus on issues of national importance is achieved?”
“The bills being considered today include an amendment to the election laws; we want to remind you that in the history of Pakistan, legislation regarding elections has never been done in this unilateral manner; election laws have always been made with extensive consultation and consensus with all parties in parliament.”
The decision to summon a joint session has made the office of the speaker “controversial”, he said, adding that the “partisan conduct” of Qaiser has removed the opposition’s confidence in the office of the speaker.
“We, therefore, demand that you take action to rectify this egregious wrong before today’s joint sitting of parliament is convened,” the NA opposition leader added.
The letter was shared with the speaker by a delegation of the joint opposition that called on him ahead of the session. PPP’s Senator Sherry Rehman, Khursheed Shah; PML-N’s Ayaz Sadiq, Azam Nazir Tarrar, Saad Rafiq, Marriyum Aurangzeb; and JUI-F’s Shahida Akhtar Ali were part of the delegation
The numbers
According to the data obtained from political parties, the ruling party and its allies have a total of 221 voters, including 179 MNAs and 42 senators.
The opposition, on the other hand, has a total of 219 members, including 162 MNAs and 57 senators.
Of the total 341 MNAs, one seat is vacant in the National Assembly. Of the 99 Senate members, one seat is suspended. This brings the combined total to 440 voters.
As per the government’s data, PTI has 156 MNAs and 27 senators bringing the total to 183; the MQM-P with seven MNAs and three senators makes a total of 10 votes; the BAP with five MNAs and nine senators totals 14; the PML-Q with five MNAs and one senator makes six votes; the GDA with three MNAs and a senator totals four; and one each from the JWP, AMLP and an independent brings the total to 221 from both the houses.
The opposition’s data states that the PML-N has 83 MNAs and 16 senators making total of 99; the PPP 56 MNAs and 21 senators brings the total of 77 votes; the 15 MNAs and five senators of the MMAP (JUI-F) total 20, the BNP-M with four MNAs and two senators totals six; the ANP has one MNA and two senators; Jamaat-e-Islami has one senator; the PkMAP and NP’s each have two senators and three MNAs and six senators of ex-FATA’s Dilawar Khan Group bring the total opposition votes from both the houses to 219.