ISLAMABAD: A member of the opposition in the National Assembly is in danger of losing his seat as a reference has been sent for his disqualification to the Election Comm­i­ssion of Pakistan (ECP).

NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq on Monday forwarded complaints against PML-N’s Adil Bazai from NA-262 Quetta and Sohail Sultan, a PTI-aligned lawmaker from NA-4 Swat.

The reference against Mr Bazai, the PML-N lawmaker, pertains to alleged floor crossing in the National Assembly, which is one of the grounds for disqualification.

However, the case aga­i­nst Mr Sultan rests on a citizen’s complaint rece­ived by the speaker’s off­ice on Sept 9. It acc­u­sed him of violating the law that bars public servants from contesting elections for two years after their retirement or resignation, a senior NA Secre­tariat official told Dawn.

The complainant clai­m­ed that Mr Sultan was drawing salary as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s assistant advocate general one year prior to contesting the general elections.

The complaint was filed under articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution, which deals with the disqualification of lawmakers.

While forwarding the complaint to the ECP for further action, Speaker Sadiq also sent a copy of his decision on the matter as per Article 63(2) of the Constitution.

The said article states: “If any question arises whether a member of the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parlia­ment) has become disqualified from being a member, the Speaker … [can] refer the question to the Election Commission within thirty days…”

“The reports of the inquiry conducted by the NA speaker secretariat are attached in the reference forwarded to the ECP,” the official said.

The ECP now has until the first week of December to decide the fate of Mr Sultan, as under Article 63(3), it has to make a decision within 90 days of receiving the reference from the speaker.

“[I]f it is of the opinion that the member has become disqualified, he shall cease to be a member and his seat shall become vacant,” the constitutional article adds.

Reference against Bazai

Mr Bazai had joined PML-N three days after becoming a member of the National Assembly as an independent candidate, an NA official told Dawn.

The reference against him, based on the complaint of PML-N head Nawaz Sharif, asked the ECP to disqualify Mr Bazai and declare his seat vacant under Article 63-A.

The said article pertains to defection or “floor-crossing” in national and provincial assemblies and binds lawmakers to not vote against their party’s policy on four instances: the election of prime minister or chief minister, vote of confidence or no-confidence, money bill or budget and constitutional amendment.

Published in Dawn, October 8th, 2024