November 12, 2002	Tuesday	Ramazan 6, 1423

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window)

ISLAMABAD, Nov 11: The government formed with the help of defectors would be most unstable, and the moment constitution is revived, the clause dealing with the floor crossing would become effective and the members who would vote against the party direction would be covered by those clauses, legal experts said.

In the backdrop of ongoing efforts for forming the PML-Q government which is short of at least 47 MNAs of simple majority, the military government is goading the MNAs to vote according to the “dictates of their conscience for PML-QA”, a blatant violation of its high moral talks which it had been giving to condemn what was called the “sham democracy”.

The government, contrary to what National Reconstruction Bureau, had been saying few months ago, has formed a new theory that since Political Parties Act 1962, stood repealed after the promulgation of Political Parties Order 2002, there was no law in the field to check floor crossing and if any MNA-elect, voted against his party direction, he would not be affected.

The government which has been issuing ordinances daily, even after the passing of deadline of Oct 12, 2002, has no immediate plan of reviving Political Parties Act providing consequence of defecting the party candidate.

An advisor of the military government told Dawn that the correct legal position was that the moment Constitution was restored the MNAs who voted against their party direction would come into the purview of Article 63 (A).

He, however, pointed out section 4 of the LFO which provides that the Chief Executive may, by notification in the official gazette, appoint; and different days may be so appointed in respect of different provisions.

If the argument of federal law minister was accepted that the Legal Framework Order has become part of the Constitution, and the constitution would be restored as “amended”, then the head of the party would be empowered to declare that an MNA has defected because he voted against the direction issued by the Parliamentary Party to which he belonged in relation to; i) election of the prime minister or the chief minister, ii) a vote of confidence or a vote of no confidence, and iii) a money bill.

The National Reconstruction Bureau had few months back, given a long sermon to the nation on the virtues of having defection law.

In the Conceptual Framework of Proposals of the Government of Pakistan on The Establishment of Sustainable Federal Democracy” Package II, “There has been a general perception in the country that in our political milieu, this freedom tends to be misused for voting based on the self serving factors, leading to political instability which lowers the esteem of the Houses. This led to general demand for debarring floor crossing even if it meant disallowing the right to vote according to the dictates of conscience,” the NRB said.

The NRB said that it was proposing amendment in Article 63(A) to ensure that: a) defection remains barred. b) Party leader may only initiate proceeding for disqualification of a member culpable of defection. c) The Election Commission be the authority to take a decision on the matter. D) Appeals against the Election Commission are not barred.