The prevailing political uncertainty has led to an unprecedented situation within the pugnacious Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, where reports of a possible split within the parliamentary party have put the party on the back-foot in the National Assembly. The formation of ‘forward blocs’, as they are known, has been addressed by the 18th Constitutional Amendment, which has made rules regarding `violation of party discipline in parliament quite strict.

Article 63A, which deals with disqualification (of parliamentarians) on grounds of defection, etc, states that:

If a member of a Parliamentary Party composed of a single political party in a House—( a) resigns from membership of his political party or joins another Parliamentary Party; or

(b) votes or abstains from voting in the House contrary to any direction issued by the Parliamentary Party to which he belongs, in relations to-

(i) election of the prime minister or the chief minister; or

(ii) a vote of confidence or a vote of no-confidence; or

(iii) a money bill or a constitutional (amendment) bill;

he may be declared in writing by the party head to have defected from the political party, and the head of the parliamentary party may forward a copy of the declaration to the presiding officer, and shall similarly forward a copy thereof to the member concerned:

Provided that before making the declaration, the party head shall provide such member with an opportunity to show cause as to why such declaration may not be made against him.

Dawn spoke to Pakistan People’s Party Senator Raza Rabbani, one of the architects of the 18th Amendment and a constitutional lawyer, and asked what options were available to dissenting members (if any) of the PTI’s parliamentary party.

Q: What safeguards does the 18th Amendment provide against horse-trading and/or floor-crossing?

A: Article 63A(1), which was amended through the 18th Constitutional Amendment, is the operative article in this regard. It provides that the party head of any parliamentary party can – if a member elected on their party ticket resigns or refuses to vote with the party whip – seek that member’s disqualification, although the aggrieved party does have the right to reply as well as challenge the decision to expel him.

Q: In this scenario, is it still possible for forward blocs to exist?

A: As long as a member’s actions do not fall under the above-mentioned categories, he or she is free to proceed according to their conscience. I personally do not support the formation of forward blocs, but there is no constitutional bar on forming a group within the party.

Q: Under these circumstances, what recourse is available to members who want to register their dissent against a particular issue?

A: Apart from key legislative issues, such as the budget, constitutional amendments or votes of confidence, members have the right to cast dissenting votes on nearly all other matters without fear of reprisal from the enforcers of party discipline.

Published in Dawn, August 27th , 2014