PPP no more in position to amend Constitution

ISLAMABAD: The continuing resignations from parliament by dual-nationality holdershave left the PPP and its treasury partners unable to amend the Constitution.

“It is hardly possible for the government to get two-thirds majority from the National Assembly on dual-nationality related amendments pending before the Senate,” the Parliamentary Affairs Division officials told The News here on Sunday.

According to the latest figures, the PPP, along with its all sitting allies, can at the most manage between 210 and 220 votes against 228 in the 342-member NA required for amending the Constitution, they maintain.

The Chief Election Commissioner, Fakhruddin G. Ibrahim, made it clear on Sunday that fresh by-elections would not be organised on the seats being vacated by the sitting MNAs or MPAs due to a constitutional bar which prohibits by-polls with 120 days or less remaining in the life of the current assemblies.

The PPP has the strength of 123 MNAs at present, its ally MQM has 20 seats (four were vacated by dual national members), ANP’s strength is 12 MNAs, PML-Q has 40 members (its 10 MNAs are part of the Like-Minded group), Fata MNAs 10 (two groups), and BNP and NPP have one seat each in the NA.

“This makes a total of 207 if all 40 PML-Q members support the treasury alliance,” the officials said.Besides, there are six or seven independent MNAs other than Fata who are also part of the treasury thus taking the grand total of the ruling alliance to 214 at the maximum, with chances of several PML-Q members slipping away, they added.

“The treasury partners, they said, are hardly in a position to reach the figure of 220 votes as 11 seats — nine because of dual nationality law and two Fata seats due to bad law and order situation — are to remain vacant till the fresh general elections,” the officials said.

The PML-Q’s Like-minded group and its uncontrolled MNAs, engaged in hectic political realignment, could further break its total of 40 numbers after 10 have formed the Like-minded group and the PML-Functional quit the treasury alliance following the Sindh Local Government Ordinance.

“A constitutional amendment requires two-thirds vote (228) irrespective of the number of sitting MNAs under any circumstances as the vacant seats do not alter this required number,” they responded to a question.

Political sources said it has become almost impossible for the government to manage the required 228 votes after the recent developments, with the PML-N, JUI-F and other opposition parties all set to oppose the treasury move in the NA.

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