Prime Minister Imran Khan secures vote of confidence with Opposition absent
Prime Minister Imran Khan secured a vote of confidence in the National Assembly today (Saturday) after the government’s recent setback in the Senate polls.
President Dr Arif Alvi had summoned the National Assembly to meet today at 12:15pm.
Imran Khan is the second Prime Minister in the history of Pakistan who went to the National Assembly for a ‘voluntary’ vote of confidence.
Prior to PM Khan, Nawaz Sharif had sought a voluntary vote of confidence from the Parliament after his reinstatement was granted by the Supreme Court in 1993.
The Opposition alliance, Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), boycotted the NA session.
After the events that transpired on March 3, when the government candidate Abdul Hafeez Sheikh lost to the opposition nominee Yousuf Raza Gillani in the Senate race for the Islamabad general seat, the prime minister announced on his own that he will seek a vote of confidence from the parliament — a bold move that has sent shock waves across the nation.
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1:11 PM
Speaker Asad Qaiser is announcing the results. PM Imran Khan has secured the vote of confidence with 178 votes, which is six more votes than he needed.
Shortly after the speaker’s announcement, Aamir Liaquat Hussain took the floor and recited some verses to celebrate PM Khan’s vote of confidence.
1:10 PM
Voting has ended. The lawmakers have started coming back into the House. The premier needs 172 votes.
12:58 PM
Prime Minister Imran Khan has cast his vote of confidence.
12:45 PM
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi tabled the resolution and voting has started.
The speaker read out the resolution. He asked those who want to vote for the resolution to move towards the right side of the Lobby.
12:20 PM
The session has started with recitation from the Holy Quran and the national anthem.
12:11 PM
Prime Minister Imran Khan has reached the House amid strict security arrangements. The NA session proceedings have started.
Lawmakers have started taking their seat. Member National Assembly Mohsin Dawar is present on the opposition benches.
11:50 AM
PTI supporters and opposition leaders are trading barbs outside Parliament.
11:33 AM
PML-N leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi is speaking in Islamabad.
PML-N leaders Marriyum Aurangzeb and Ahsan Iqbal are with him.
PTI workers have arrived and are interrupting their press conference with chants of slogans in support of Prime Minister Imran Khan.
11:32 AM
PTI MNA Malik Muhammad Amir Dogar’s staff was barred from entering the Assembly.
11:26 AM
Special Assistant to Prime Minister of Pakistan on Political Communication Dr Shahbaz Gill says Imran Khan did not need to take a vote of confidence by law.
He was speaking to a private source ahead of the NA session.
Dr Gill says PM Khan won’t leave the “thieves” of this country even if he goes back home as an opposition leader today and not the Prime Minister.
11:20 AM
Federal Railways Minister Sheikh Rasheed says PM Imran Khan is about to start a new political journey.
11:00 AM
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi will present a resolution of confidence in the Prime Minister.
The resolution is ready.
10:20 AM
ISLAMABAD: PTI’s Shehryar Afridi has reached Parliament House.
He says today is a day for the victory for the truth.
10:15 AM
ISLAMABAD: According to our correspondent, Science and Technology Minister Fawad Chaudhry and MNA Nafeesa Khattak and several other politicians have started arriving for the NA session.
Chaudhry shared scenes from the Lobby on his Twitter and gave an update on how many lawmakers have reached.
09:58 AM
A heavy contingent of police has been deployed around D-Chowk, Parliament Lodges and the National Assembly ahead of the confidence vote.
PTI workers have reached outside the parliament to express solidarity with the Prime Minister.
What is the process for a vote of confidence?
Pakistan’s Constitution states that if the president feels that the prime minister has lost the confidence of the majority of the parliament’s members, then he will direct him to seek a vote of confidence and this vote is taken through an open ballot.
So how will a vote of confidence be taken from parliamentarians and how many numbers are needed by the prime minister to succeed?
PM Khan, under all circumstances, must have the support of a simple majority of 172 lawmakers in the National Assembly, according to Article 91(7) of the Constitution. However, since the NA-75 seat lies vacant after its by-election results were nullified by the Election Commission of Pakistan, he will need the support of 171. The government currently has 180 members.
Under the rules of the National Assembly that lay out the procedure for a motion of confidence, a bell is sounded for five minutes to ensure the presence of all makers in the House before parliamentary proceedings can begin.
After this, all the doors leading to the Lobby are closed. No one inside is permitted to exit and no one from outside is allowed to enter.
The Speaker then reads out the resolution pertaining to confidence in the prime minister before the Assembly and ask the members who wish to vote in favour of the resolution to pass in single file through the entrance where there will be “tellers” posted to record each member’s vote.
Each member shall reach a teller’s desk and call out the “division number” allotted to them under the rules.
The teller will then mark off the member’s name on the division list while calling out their name. The member is required to stop and clearly hear their name being called out before moving off, so that their vote can properly be recorded.
Scenes inside lobby at 10 am:) pic.twitter.com/fIptRCKwS9
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) March 6, 2021
After their vote is recorded, they must leave the Chamber and not return until bells are rung once more.
When the Speaker finds that all the members who wished to vote for the prime minister have recorded their votes, he shall declare that voting has ended.
Subsequently, the secretary will collect the division list, count the recorded votes and present the result to the Speaker.
Prime Minister of Pakistan @ImranKhanPTI Arrives at National Assembly of Pakistan, Islamabad for Vote of Confidence (06.03.2021) pic.twitter.com/QdcpBOeONU
— Prime Minister’s Office, Pakistan (@PakPMO) March 6, 2021
Bells will then again be rung for two minutes to call back the lawmakers to the Chamber.
Once they have returned, the result will be announced by the Speaker.
After the result is declared, and a resolution for a vote of confidence under rule 36 is passed or rejected, the Speaker communicates the result in writing to the president. The secretary is required to get a notification of the result published in the Gazette of Pakistan.
