‘Mid-term polls only possible if govt wants them’

Following reports that Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan asked party lawmakers to have their resignations ready, it is becoming clear that PTI is mulling the demand for mid-term elections quite seriously. Dawn spoke to leading constitutional expert and senior lawyer, S.M. Zafar and asked him whether the Constitution allows for mid-term polls in the aftermath of the 18th Ammendment. Q: Does the Constitution, in its current shape, allow for mid term elections? A: Mid-term elections cannot be held without the express advice of the prime minister as envisioned in Article 58 of the Constitution. They can only be held if the PM dissolves the National Assembly. In such a situation, the prime minister and those members of his cabinet who do not intend to contest election would continue until the formation of a new government. Before the 18th Ammendment, the president could, under the old Article 58-2/B, dissolve the National Assembly. But this power was stripped from the president by the 18th Ammendment. Q: Is there any other way for a political party to force the government’s hand and push for mid-term polls? A: According to the current Article 58-2, “the President may also dissolve the National Assembly in his discretion where, a vote of no-confidence having been passed against the Prime Minister, no other member of the National Assembly commands the confidence of the majority of the members of the National Assembly in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution”. For a vote of no-confidence to be passed, two-thirds of the 342 members of the lower house would have to endorse it, which seems unlikely given the current scenario. Q: Will en masse resignations of opposition lawmakers have any impact? A: If more than half the members of the National Assembly resign, then under the Representation of Peoples Act 1976, mid-term elections could be held. But this is highly unlikely and unprecedented, as no one has ever been able to convince parliamentarians to resign in such great numbers in the past. Published in Dawn, Aug 3rd, 2014