ISLAMABAD, Oct 20: The opposition may boycott voting after making speeches in the National Assembly when the House takes up a no-confidence motion against Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain on Friday, sources told Dawn here on Wednesday.

The sources said the opposition considered the option after the government announced that its members would abstain from voting on the motion. The opposition parties planned to boycott the voting process but only after speeches targeting not only the Speaker but also President Gen Pervez Musharraf.

Both the government and the opposition parties had adopted similar strategies in June last year when the National Assembly took up a no-confidence motion against the speaker filed by 11 members of the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD) and the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA), for his ruling that the Legal Framework Order (LFO) was a part of the constitution.

On that occasion, as soon as the movers had completed their speeches, the opposition members boycotted the voting and staged a walkout.

This time there are 107 movers of the no-confidence motion against the speaker. Keeping in view such a large number, it will be difficult for the deputy speaker, who is likely to preside over the session, to allow all of them to speak in favour of the motion. Under the rules, a mover can speak for up to 15 minutes on a motion. If all the 107 movers are allowed to speak, then it will take 26 hours to complete the debate. It will be interesting to see how much time the opposition is allowed to debate the motion.

Interestingly, Rule 12(7) of the Rules and Procedures for Conduct of Business in the National Assembly 1992 states: "The assembly shall not be adjourned until the motion for leave is disposed of or if leave is granted, the resolution has been voted upon."

When contacted, ARD parliamentary secretary Izhar Amrohvi said a meeting of the parliamentarians of the Alliance would be held at the PPP Central Secretariat here on Thursday morning to devise a strategy for the no-confidence motion against the Speaker.

When asked about the possibility of the boycott of the voting process, Mr Amrohvi said in case the ruling coalition stopped its members from taking part in the voting process, then the opposition would have no other choice.

He, however, criticized the government decision to abstain from the voting. He said actually the government had decided not to take part in voting as it did not have trust on the Treasury Members.