The move is aimed at silencing the critics of the provincial chief executive, who have consistently been saying that he doesn’t have a majority’s support in the 372-member house.
The new opposition leader, Raja Riaz, and his predecessor Chaudhry Zaheeruddin have repeatedly demanded the chief minister show his majority. They say that it is only because of the Unification Bloc, a group of PML-Q dissidents, that the chief minister has majority’s support.
Punjab government’s spokesman Senator Pervaiz Rasheed said for the time being the chief minister had no plan to go for a confidence vote. “We don’t think it is necessary. We have no such plan for the time being”, he said when TheNation asked for the government’s point of view on the issue. Under the Constitution, it is only the governor who can call upon the chief minister to show his majority.
If the demand comes from the governor, then there is a specific procedure under which the vote is sought. However, Governor Latif Khosa has no plan to put the chief minister to such a test. He has consistently been saying that he has got very good personal relations with the Sharif brothers and that he wouldn’t do anything that could destabilize the Punjab government. At the same time, the governor has never concealed his views about the status of the Unification Bloc members.
In various interviews, he said in categorical terms that these people are not allowed to cast their votes in favour of the chief minister, or they will be violating their mandate. In a voluntary vote, it is not necessary for the chief minister to necessarily show that most members of the house are with him. Some member may suddenly stand up and say that the house reposes its confidence in the chief minister.
The members may raise their hands in support of the move.
