Joint session: Opposition claims rigging in vote counting

ISLAMABAD/LAHORE: The combined opposition has, while terming 17th November as the blackest day in the Parliament history, announced to challenge other bills, including the Election Amendment Bill in the Supreme Court (SC) as the National Assembly Speaker misused his power in counting of votes. They said that the government is making the next election controversial and gave an ultimatum that they would not accept the results of the next election if the bill for EVMs was passed.

“The speaker National Assembly has lost the confidence of the House and we will also consider the option of bringing the no-confidence motion against Speaker National Assembly in the next meeting of the combined opposition,” said Opposition Leader in the National Assembly and President PMLN Shehbaz Sharif while addressing a press talk along with PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, parliamentary leader of the JUIF in the National Assembly Maulana Asad Mehmood, senior leader of the ANP Amir Haider Khan Hoti and Senator Mushtaq Ahmed of Jamaat-e-Islami after staging a walkout from the joint sitting of both the houses of the Parliament on Wednesday. They said that votes of treasury were increased while votes of the opposition were decreased during the legislation in the joint session of Parliament and claimed this was rigging.

In a press conference, after staging a walkout from the National Assembly outside the Parliament, Shehbaz termed the day as the blackest day in parliamentary history, accusing the Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaisar of bulldozing the legislation.

Bilawal Bhutto said the entire country should know that the government was defeated today as in the joint session legislations are passed by the majority of the total strength of the National Assembly and the Senate jointly. “This number comes out to be 222 votes, which the government failed to muster,” he said.

During his address in National Assembly, Bilawal said even the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has rejected EVMs, adding that ECP had raised 37 serious objections over the machine. He said the government is making the next election controversial and gave an ultimatum that they will not accept the next election if the bill for EVMs is passed.

Addressing a press conference, Shehbaz Sharif said, “All the bills were bulldozed and the Speaker did not listen to our even a single word,” he added. He said, “We told the Speaker that you are misusing the authority, we think three to four votes of government people were counted more. I, Maulana Asad and Bilawal Bhutto went to the Speaker but they did not listen. I and Bilawal Bhutto tried a lot but the National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser did not listen to us,” he said.

He said, “We had requested the Speaker to be recounted as according to the rules, the number had to be 222 for the majority but the Speaker did not listen to opposition.” He said out of 167 countries, only 8 countries have adopted EVM. “We are already ruled by a rigged government and now they want to impose this EVM on us so we have no option but to boycott and walkout,” he said.

Talking to journalists in the opposition's press conference, Bilawal said that the entire country should know that the government was defeated today as in the joint session legislations are passed by the majority of the total strength of the National Assembly and the Senate jointly. He claimed that the treasury benches needed a minimum of 222 votes to get a bill passed in a joint session, where 342 lawmakers were from the lower and 100 from the upper house. “However the government did not have enough numbers to get the bills passed,” he said. He asked media to make people aware of the fact that the government was defeated today.

Responding to questions by the journalists he said that the failure of the government is that it could not secure 222 votes. He said, “The opposition is united in the Parliament where we can and have defeated the government. He said that the PPP has a historic stance that every institution must work within its own ambit.

Maulana Asad Mehmood said that the nation would not recognise unilateral legislation. “We suggest that at least the rules and regulations be adopted,” he said. He said, “Who will believe that these 220 million people can get free, fair and transparent elections.” He said, “Our members were not allowed to speak, legislation was enacted on the basis of coercion, the faces of government members were down today, and they would go to every forum including the Supreme Court.

Senior leader of the ANP Amir Haider Khan Hoti said, “Legislation was passed today for Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav but no production order has been issued for Ali Wazir who is in jail.”

He said today proceedings has proved that the National Assembly Speaker is completely controversial. “The 2018 elections were actually a selection and now the government has made the upcoming elections controversial with putting a question mark on the next elections,” he said.

Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition in Punjab Assembly and Central Vice President PMLN Hamza Shehbaz Sharif has declared November 17 as one of the darkest day in the history of Pakistan.

In a statement issued here on Wednesday, Hamza said that the government destroyed all norms of Parliament and used every kind of force and coercion to pass the Election Act Amendment Bill in the National Assembly.

He said the PTI, against which rigging in Daska elections was proved, was raising the flag of election reforms but originally introduction of Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) was part of this government's future rigging plan. He said EVMs were used in many countries in the world who later rejected these machines due to allegations of rigging. He said the government has been trying to impose EVMs on 22 crore people of a nuclear power country.