PTI-PML-Q members claim it’s the ‘magical number’
LAHORE:
Amid intense tensions and rising political mercury, the Punjab Assembly can head back to vote on Fri (today) to elect the new leader of the house – and also the country’s political capital – as ordered by the Supreme Court to settle the mud on the long-drawn-out imbroglio triggered by the ‘disputed elections’ of the incumbent chief minister, Hamza Shehbaz, earlier this year.
By the instruction ordered by the apex court, the run-off polls are going down 5 days when the by-polls on twenty seats that fell vacant when the disqualification of PTI defectors who voted for Hamza, in a new, reconstituted House with a modified body.
PML-Q’s Pervaiz Elahi – PTI’s candidate – and also the incumbent chief minister are currently competing for the sought-after post.
The bitterly contested political territory is droning with activities starting from alleged parleys to peel off lawmakers from across the aisle, a flurry of conferences between political heavyweights, and desperate labor to deliver a “last-minute shock” to the opposite facet. Still, both the PTI-PML-Q alliance and also the PML-N-led government have placed a daring face.
However, the celebs are believed to be aligned for the PTI that, recent ending within the initial real take a look at its power within the recent Punjab by-polls, is coming into the crucial stretch of its plans to collect up the reins of the province it lost in an exceedingly arguable chief minister’s election.
If it walks away as a victor in today’s contest, Imran Khan’s PTI can gain the political weightage it’s been chasing to undercut the facility of its arch-rivals within the Centre and pave back to Islamabad.
A potential defeat would nearly leave the PML-N expecting the opposite shoe to drop – an upshot in Islamabad wherever the incumbent chief minister’s father, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, is keeping tabs on the province’s politics with bated breath.
It is noteworthy that an identical heated contest earlier this year had mushroomed into a constitutional crisis and left Punjab in limbo with no effective government.
With some 186 members, the PTI holds a majority within the 371-seat assembly. Before the PA by-polls, the opposition – PTI (158 MPAs) and PMLQ (10 MPAs) – had a complete strength of 168.
Following the ECP’s notification on 5 reserved seats, the quantity augmented to 173. The tally augmented when it won seats via election.
Meanwhile, the PML-N, when grabbing four-seat by-elections, has the strength of a hundred and eighty.
Imran warns against ‘manipulation’
Leery of manipulation amid hardball ways by the ruling party to retain its hold within the province, PTI chief Imran Khan discharged the warning shot, alerting the ‘state institutions’ against any try to manipulate the polls as a result of then “the public won’t be in control”.
He aforesaid that do not assume for one moment that the folks can sit idle just in case of manipulation of the polls.
He is conjointly aforesaid whereas addressing his supporters via video link on Thursday that he wishes to form it clear that the PTI won’t tolerate thieving of the public’s vote with their cash.
The former prime minister suspects his rival political parties of victimization cash to shop for loyalties before the crucial poll.
According to him, attempts are being created to intimidate PTI’s lawmakers to make them removed from the election.
He went on to mention that each maneuver is used to form positive that the PTI is defeated in the Punjab by-polls.
The ousted premier conjointly fell laborious on the election commission of Pakistan (ECP), telling doesn’t have any trust in the current chief election commissioner.
He dominated any chance of clear elections with this CEC in the chair.
Imran conjointly criticized the ECP for suspending by-elections and native bodies polls in Sindh “over a mere excuse of rains”.
He conjointly took the highest electoral watchdog to task for its opposition to the electronic vote machines, telling that it opposed the move over the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM).
Poised to divest Hamza Shehbaz as Punjab’s chief govt when subjection to the ‘citadel’ of the Sharifs, the highest leadership of both the PTI and also the PML-Q have tutored their lawmakers to remain in the capital and not leave it.
The parties have conjointly directed their members of the provincial assembly to indicate abreast of a fateful day while not failing.
PTI-PML-Q alliance has claimed the 186 members as wizardly number
Meanwhile, members of the PTI-PML-Q alliance created the claims that they need the strength of 186 members – the wizardly number to indicate the bulk in the house – and aforesaid there was a “big surprise” for CM Hamza Shehbaz.
The PTI and its key ally, PML-Q, control a parliamentary party session at a building in Lahore, wherever PTI vice chairman Fawad Chaudhry claimed all 186 members were gifts.
The session was conjointly addressed by party chairman Imran Khan.
Fawad claimed that the opposition had mustered the numerical backing of 186 members and asked PML-N to currently worry concerning its own MPAs who were “unhappy” with their party’s leadership and its policies.
Similarly, in his interaction with the media, PML-Q’s Moonis Elahi declared that the quantity game for the chief minister’s election has been completed.
Moonis, who is the son of the PTI’s candidate Elahi, aforesaid that PML-Q had the support of over the desired lawmakers.
Moonis aforesaid that, the govt. can see its defeat this time and adding that their maneuver of giving cash to lawmakers won’t work.
Meanwhile, the PPP co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari visited and hold a meeting with PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain at his Zahoor Elahi Road residence.
Fresh MPAs were sworn in
Meanwhile, nineteen fresh electoral Punjab members of the provincial assembly who secured seats in recent Punjab by-elections conjointly took oath on Thursday.
Out of the electoral MPAs, fifteen belonged to the PTI, 3 to PML-N and one is an independent member.
Besides, MPA Ali Afzal Sahi, who was electoral from Faisalabad has conjointly been sworn in.
The development came after PTI Central Punjab President Dr. Yasmin Rashid had urged the commission of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan daily earlier to advise the party’s winning candidates of the results of the by-election for twenty seats.
She conjointly demanded that it ought to take action on horse commercialism by PM Shehbaz and Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah.
Dr.Rashid expressed that the winning candidates had nonetheless to require the oath and then to participate in the next session of the Punjab Assembly regular and notified for July 22 (today) in the Punjab Assembly building.
