LAHORE:
The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Saturday summoned Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Sardar Dost Muhammad Mazari at 2 pm in relation to a petition filed by Chaudhry Pervez Elahi.
Elahi’s petition has challenged the shock ruling by Mazari which rejected PML-Q’s ten votes during the process to elect the chief minister of Punjab.
A larger bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial heard the petition. Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Muneeb are the other members of the bench.
As the proceedings commenced at the Lahore Registry of SC today, Elahi’s counsel argued that the second round of voting for the chief minister’s slot was held yesterday but an ‘illegal ruling’ was passed by the deputy speaker and PML-Q votes were rejected on the ground that he had received a letter from Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, who had directed the party’s MPAs to vote in favour of PML-N candidate Hamza Shehbaz.
He further said that the party MPAs had violated the instructions and voted for Elahi and in light of the apex court’s ruling, the votes were rejected.
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Hamza gets the prize
The PML-N on Friday won a dramatic victory against the PTI that few had predicted in the Punjab chief minister’s election, retaining the throne of Punjab after surviving its closest brush with loss in the political heartland.
Warmed in the nick of time by a letter from PML-Q head Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain — instructing his MPAs to vote for PML-N’s candidate — Hamza Shehbaz was declared a victor after Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Dost Mohammad Mazari ruled that PML-Q members’ votes were not counted in light of party head’s letter.
According to Mazari, Hamza received 179 votes whereas Elahi garnered 176 votes, but only after 10 votes of Elahi’s own party were not counted, which turned the tables in Hamza’s favour.
In line with the ruling of the Supreme Court verdict on Article 63-A related to the defection clause, the deputy speaker said he had rejected the votes of PML-Q lawmakers.
Ironically, the apex court’s verdict had served as the legal ground to trigger a second round of elections for the chief minister’s office. In accordance with the recipe ordered by the apex court, the run-off polls took place five days after the by-polls on 20 seats that fell vacant after the disqualification of PTI defectors who voted for Hamza, in a new, reconstituted House with a changed electoral college.