The validity of Hamza Shehbaz’s election as Punjab Chief Minister will be determined tomorrow when the Lahore High Court (LHC) announces its verdict on the pleas of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) and Punjab Assembly Speaker Pervez Elahi.
A five-member bench comprising Justice Sadaqat Ali Khan, Justice Shahid Jamil Khan, Justice Shehram Sarwar Chaudhry, Justice Sajid Mahmood Sethi and Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh is hearing the case.
The bench said on Wednesday that it would look at the election of Hamza Shehbaz to determine if the Supreme Court’s interpretation of Article 63-A would apply in his case as well.
Previously, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in light of the Supreme Court’s verdict had deseated 25 PTI MPAs. However, the provincial Election Commission has not yet notified the five PTI members on the vacant reserved seats. Once it does, the opposition alliance will gain five more seats in the Assembly.
Moreover the 25 de-seated MPAs had voted in favor of Hamza Shahbaz during the elections for chief minister of Punjab on April 16, earning him a majority with 197 votes, significantly more than the required 186 votes.
However, as the PTI lawmakers have now been de-seated and are no longer members of the house, their votes may potentially no longer be considered, causing Hamza to lose his majority.
During yesterday’s proceedings the court had suggested the possibility of holding fresh elections for the post of Chief Minister of Punjab.
Justice Sadaqat said that the fresh polling would be conducted by the same presiding officer who held the previous poll, who is Punjab Assembly’s Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari.
