Snowball of defection

The fate of Punjab Assembly defectors has been sealed. In a unanimous 3-0 decision, the Election Commission of Pakistan accepted references of disqualification against them by the Speaker, and all the 25 legislators were unseated. This was fait accompli in the light of the Supreme Court judgment the other day wherein it interpreted a presidential reference on Article 63-A, and ruled that defectors’ vote shall not be counted. This decision will have a far-reaching impact not only on the politics of Punjab, where Chief Minister Hamza Sharif has lost his majority in the house, but also on the format of representative rule in future as floor-crossing and defection have been stunningly disgraced in de jure context.

The electoral watchdog took a full circle to decide over a petition, which otherwise seemed to be a simple point of being judgmental. While a lot of tweaking in the case was apparent as respective respondents pleaded their stances, the ECP remained glued to its constitutional role, and decided it as per law. It exhibited an extra leaf of consciousness to study inwardly the apex court’s frame of mind on defectors, and went on to show the door to the Punjab MPAs, accordingly. Whereas, in the case of MNAs from PTI, the ECP held its ground, and rejected the unseating plea on the grounds that the legislators have not voted on the floor of the house, and their political inclination otherwise cannot be scrutinised.

Thus the Sword of Damocles that was hanging over Hamza’s head has come down hard, and the fate of the house too now hangs in the balance. Apart from PTI turncoats, Jehangir Tareen and Aleem Khan supporters are the other victims. Their politics of dissent has backfired, and the jingoism to turn the tables on power-sharing couldn’t last for long. Yet, the game is not over as far as politics of connivance and numerical strength is concerned. Hamza, as per the constitutionally laid-down procedure of re-election, can still sustain his simple majority. But all said and done, the Supreme Court and ECP have strengthened the rule of law and the trust of the masses in the constitution and representative rule. This is no small achievement in an era when politically-ordered chaos in the order of the day.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 21^st, 2022.

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