The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has deseated 25 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) members of the Punjab Assembly who voted in favour of Hamza Shehbaz Sharif in the chief minister’s election despite the party’s directive not to do so.
Earlier, the ECP announced that the verdict on the reference filed against 25 dissident lawmakers of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in the Punjab Assembly would be announced at 3 p.m. on Friday (today). The ECP has also served notices on the case’s respondents.
The ECP had planned to announce the verdict on Wednesday (May 18), but it was unable to do so due to unforeseen circumstances.
It should be noted that Punjab Assembly Speaker Ch Pervaiz Elahi had referred the dissident PTI lawmakers in the Punjab Assembly to the ECP.
The speaker had sought action against the dissidents under Article 63-A of the Constitution because they had defected to the opposition prior to the election of the Punjab Chief Minister.
On May 6, a three-member ECP bench led by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja heard the reference for the first time and issued notices to the respondents.
The ECP has held eight hearings on the reference.
