Govt defeat in NA

The government was left red-faced on Tuesday after failing to block an anti-horsetrading bill due to low attendance on the treasury benches. The bill bars candidates affiliated with political parties from contesting elections from any other party for at least seven years. The bill, if passed into law, could have a significant impact on the political structure of the country — several ‘electables’ in parliament, especially from PTI and BAP, would have been affected by the restrictions, including almost half of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s cabinet and Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar.

However, the significance of the events in parliament had less to do with the contents of the bill and more with the ruling party’s inability to block it. After the 117-104 vote, several opposition leaders, including PPP chief Bilawal-Bhutto Zardari and former PML-N National Assembly speaker Ayaz Sadiq, said the government should resign after losing the vote. Others mocked the government’s lack of preparation for the vote despite having called the session. Indeed, the opposition has repeatedly pointed out the lack of quorum in the assembly since the current session began, which is reflective of the government’s inability to get its own members to show up for work.

The government even failed to get a bill to prevent harassment of women on social media tabled. While we would hope that the opposition only blocked the bill out of gamesmanship or a serious problem with the contents of the bill, rather than opposition to its stated objectives, it is worrying that the government would assume that any of its bills were ‘safe’, given how voting had been going. However, the government actually tried to go for a voice vote before the opposition challenged them and demanded a full vote. The speaker then controversially adjourned the sitting early instead of letting the rest of the PTI’s bills face the same fate.

The day’s events were another reflection of why the government continues its controversial tactic of governing by ordinance rather than passing bills through parliament — it can’t even get its own members to show up and support its proposals.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 11^th, 2021.

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