ISLAMABAD: A day after former ruling party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) announced to hold countrywide protests outside the offices of Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) against the “anti-PTI and biased chief election commissioner”, the electoral body, Monday, decided to summon 46 PTI dissident lawmakers —20 MNAs on Thursday and Punjab Assembly’s 26 MPAs on the coming May 6 - for hearing their cases under Article 63-A.
The decision was taken in a high-level ECP meeting presided over by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja.
The meeting confirmed that the cases of the PTI’s dissident lawmakers sent by speakers of NA and PA were received by the ECP, and fixed hearings in the cases on April 28 and May 6, respectively.
The ECP also reviewed the letters sent to ECP by PTI Chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan wherein he informed the electoral body that all PTI MNAs elected on general, as well as, reserved seats for women and minorities, stepped down (PTI priority lists on reserved seats withdrawn), and defectors should be proceeded against under Article 63-A.
The meeting was of the view that ECP did not receive any notification of PTI MNAs resignation from speaker NA. Action would be initiated as soon as the related notifications of resignations were received from the NA speaker office, the meeting decided. Article 63-A deals with the defection of those lawmakers who vote against their party’s direction in the election of prime minister/ chief minister, vote of confidence/ vote of no-confidence and money bill.
Earlier on Sunday, the PTI announced to hold countrywide protests outside the offices of ECP today against “anti-PTI and biased CEC.”
The announcement came following a crucial huddle of the PTI’s Political Committee under the leadership of Chairman PTI and former PM Imran Khan.
On Saturday, the PTI chairman demanded immediate resignation of CEC Raja, accusing him of working against PTI. A media report has quoted the CEC as saying that he would not step down.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022