Senate no-trust vote

To our politicians politics is like love and war where everything is fair

Numbers do suggest a change at the Senate helm though, the government is hopeful that Sadiq Sanjrani will survive the no-confidence motion that the opposition plans to bring against him. Prime Minister Imran Khan has assured the Senate chairman that the government will not let the motion against him succeed. His party men too are dropping hints at public gatherings and television talk shows that the opposition will have to regret the move, with many claiming the support of nearly a dozen Senators from the opposition ranks. While Sanjrani does not have a snowball’s chance in hell of surviving, the question that arises here is: How does such a possibility arise when the numerical strength of the government and its allies do not exceed 40 in the 104-strong House? Well, the clue lies in the secret ballot that would determine the fate of the no-confidence motion. After all, horse-trading in our politics is a reality.

To our politicians – it seems – politics is like love and war where everything is fair. What’s then wrong with vote trading for a ‘noble cause’! And what’s wrong in accepting the bait in the supreme national interest! Even though the Constitution – in the wake of the 18th amendment passed by parliament in year 2010 – forbids change of loyalty by lawmakers in very clear words, our parliamentary system is rife with the politics of defections, floor crossings and forward blocs. The buying and selling of votes has long been a major bane of our parliamentary system even though a law forbidding it is in place. A glimpse of this unlawful, unfair and brazenly shameful way of politics is highly likely to be on display during what would be the first time a Senate chairman would face a no-trust vote.

While having Sanjrani – who really deserves praise for the impartial and graceful manner in which he has been presiding over the Upper House proceedings – replaced with Mir Hasil Bizenjo, the opposition’s candidate, would not move heaven and earth in terms of political control, it would certainly mark the first step towards mounting pressure on the PTI-led government.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 13^th, 2019.

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