Elections and selections: Without an Opp leader, a ‘constitutional blip’ in Sindh

Caretaker CMs must be appointed in consultation with the opposition leaders, according to the 18th amendment.

KARACHI:

For the past 18 months, no one has been leading the opposition in the Sindh Assembly. But with the general elections approaching, a new constitutional battlefront may open up for the ruling party.

The 18th constitutional amendment makes it clear that the caretaker prime minister and chief ministers are to be appointed in consultation with the leaders of the opposition in the outgoing National Assembly and provincial assemblies, respectively. The Sindh Assembly has, however, no opposition leader to be consulted with!

In July 2011, the opposition leader’s seat in Sindh Assembly became vacant when Pakistan Muslim League-Functional’s (PML-F) Jam Madad Ali was appointed a provincial minister as his party joined the coalition government. Since then, the provincial legislature has been running without an opposition leader, which according to constitutional experts is “unconstitutional”.

In September last year, the Pir Pagara-led party parted ways with the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) against a new system of local governance. The PML-F, along with some members of the National Peoples Party (NPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), succeeded in getting the opposition benches in the Sindh Assembly but they have not yet been given the opposition leader’s slot. The party filed an application in the provincial assembly, nominating Nusrat Seher Abbasi as the opposition leader, about a month ago.



Article 224(A) of the Constitution defines the role of the opposition leaders of national and provincial assemblies, says senior lawyer Mujeeb Pirzada, also a constitutional expert.

The 18th amendment states that the president shall appoint the caretaker prime minister in consultation with the incumbent prime minister and the opposition leader of the outgoing National Assembly. Similarly, the provincial governors will appoint caretaker chief ministers in consultations with the serving chief ministers and leaders of the opposition in their respective outgoing assemblies.

The appointment of opposition leaders is a constitutional requirement without which the proceedings of both the houses are against the law. “This violates the 18th amendment, which the ruling party claims as a huge achievement,” he said. “I wonder how the Sindh chief minister would fulfil the constitutional requirements in the absence of the opposition leader.”

In the 168-member Sindh Assembly, the opposition’s current strength stands at 18 MPAs. The PML-F has eight seats and enjoys the support of three NPP members and one PML-Q legislator. Five MPAs of the PML-Q (Likeminded led by Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim) are undecided on their loyalty. These legislators have, however, always supported the PML-F traditionally.

The five-year term of the Sindh Assembly will end on April 4 as all members took oath on April 5, 2008. The government plans, however, to dissolve the National Assembly and provincial assemblies on the same day - likely to be March 16.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 21^st, 2013.