KARACHI:
The National Assembly is one of the most dignified places in the country. However, what transpired on Sunday was extremely undemocratic and can be regarded as a dark day for the country’s parliamentary democracy. The Deputy Speaker dismissed the no-trust motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan and termed it against Article 5 of the Constitution. The decision had several constitutional illegalities. Firstly, the speaker does not have any legal authority to interpret the Constitution by gluing general articles, like article 5, with specific articles that command the conduct of the speaker and the no-confidence motion.
Secondly, even if there were a ‘foreign conspiracy’, the speaker does not have legal jurisdiction to become the adjudicator, particularly when the numbers demonstrate that his government has lost the majority and he now represents a minority political party. The only adjudicator in this scenario is the court of law. Consequently, the speaker does not have the jurisdiction to give a verdict on the legality of the motion but to count heads in favour or against it.
The second unconstitutional blow came from the Prime Minister when he advised the President to dissolve the assemblies and hold elections. This move violates Article 58 of the Constitution, which states that a Prime Minister facing a no-confidence motion cannot advise the president to dissolve assemblies. Many legal experts and analysts are of the view that these actions are disingenuous and should be rendered null and void by the Supreme Court. During this time, one can only hope for the Constitution to prevail.
Hamza Wyne
Multan
Published in The Express Tribune, April 5th, 2022.
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