In today’s joint sitting, a close contest expected
PHOTO: FILE
The voting contest between the government and the opposition during the joint sitting on Wednesday (today) is expected to be a close one as the treasury has a combined lead of only two votes over the opposition.
According to the data obtained from political parties, the ruling party and its allies have a total of 221 voters, including 179 MNAs and 42 senators.
The opposition, on the other hand, has a total of 219 members, including 162 MNAs and 57 senators.
Of the total 341 MNAs, one seat is vacant in the National Assembly. Of the 99 Senate members, one seat is suspended. This brings the combined total to 440 voters.
As per the government’s data, PTI has 156 MNAs and 27 senators bringing the total to 183; the MQM-P with seven MNAs and three senators makes a total of 10 votes; the BAP with five MNAs and nine senators totals 14; the PML-Q with five MNAs and one senator makes six votes; the GDA with three MNAs and a senator totals four; and one each from the JWP, AMLP and an independent brings the total to 221 from both the houses.
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The opposition’s data states that the PML-N has 83 MNAs and 16 senators making total of 99; the PPP 56 MNAs and 21 senators brings the total of 77 votes; the 15 MNAs and five senators of the MMAP (JUI-F) total 20, the BNP-M with four MNAs and two senators totals six; the ANP has one MNA and two senators; Jamaat-e-Islami has one senator; the PkMAP and NP’s each have two senators and three MNAs and six senators of ex-FATA’s Dilawar Khan Group bring the total opposition votes from both the houses to 219.
Another estimate gives a lead of four votes to the ruling coalition, but only the total number of lawmakers, who will actually attend the sitting and vote, will make the real difference.
The joint sitting will take up 59 items, including roughly two dozen bills.
It will be decided if the country would have a new election system where the overseas Pakistanis would also be able to vote or would it stick to the previous one where, as the government said, the results were always contested for one reason or another.
According to the agenda released for the joint sitting, the government aims to present over two dozen bills -- including The Elections (Amendment) Bill, 2021; The Elections (Second Amendment) Bill, 2021;
The International Court of Justice (Review and Re-consideration) Bill, 2021; The SBP Banking Services Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2021; and the Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trial) Bill, 2021.
Among other bills, the law minister will move the one to effectually tackle the pervading instances of rape and sexual abuse in respect of women and children through changes in the substantive law -- The Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2021.
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Adviser to PM on Parliamentary Affairs Babar Awan will move The Covid-19 (Prevention of Hoarding) Bill, 2021 so that taking undue advantage during a pandemic could be stopped.
The bills passed by the National Assembly but not by the Senate within 90 days would now be presented in the joint sitting for consideration at once under clause (3) of Article 70 of the Constitution.
The two houses will also take up the bill making provisions for prohibition of corporal punishment against children.
In addition, Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar will move a reference under Article 154(7) of the Constitution read with rule 20 of the Parliament (Joint Sittings) Rules, 1973 against the decision of the Council of Common Interests (CCI) before the joint sitting.
The agenda states that the parliament in a joint sitting may consider and decide the fate of CCI’s decision on the population Census 2017, keeping in view the reservations of the Sindh government.