All eyes are on the upper house of the parliament on Thursday as senators from opposition parties, in a first, attempt to oust through a no-confidence motion its chairman, who enjoys the support of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) led ruling coalition.
According to the numbers’ game, the joint opposition is in a comfortable numerical position to turn the tables on the senators from treasury benches and remove Sadiq Sanjrani.
The opposition parties, in the 103-member house, enjoy the support of 67 senators while the governing alliance has the backing of 36 members.
The chairman can be removed by the majority of the total membership, and so, the support of at least 52 senators will be required to carry the no-trust motion.
OPPOSITION:
The opposition alliance in the upper house comprises of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) with 30 senators, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) with 20, Mir Hasil Khan’s National Party (NP) with five members, Jamiat Ulemae Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) with four senators, Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) of Mehmood Achakzai with four and Asfandyar Wali’s Awami National Party (ANP) with one member.
With the inclusion of two senators from Jamaate Islami Pakistan (JIP) and an independent senator, the tally stands at 67. However, PML-N’s Ishaq Dar has still not taken oath and the two belonging to JIP have reportedly decided to abstain from the proceedings.
GOVERNMENT:
The government alliance, on the other hand, is in a weaker position, with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) 14 senators. Its ally Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has five, Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) has eight and Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) and Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F) have one senator each in the house.
Seven independent senators also sit on the government benches.
While the opposition alliance is apparently in a stronger position, the primary condition remains that all opposition members, in the secret ballot, cast their votes in the favour of the consensus nominee that is Bizenjo.
