Tuesday, Dec 31, 2002
Tuesday, Dec 31, 2002 |
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By B. Muralidhar Reddy
Mr. Jamali polled 188 votes in a House of 342 members as compared to the 172 he had managed on November 23 when he was elected Prime Minister defeating the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal candidate, Maulana Fazlur Rehman. Under the Pakistan Constitution, the Prime Minister, after being elected on the floor of the National Assembly, is required to obtain a confidence vote within 60 days. Managers of the Jamali regime did not want to prolong the ordeal given the precarious nature of the coalition and the possibility of unrest arising among the members of the ruling combine for the spoils of office. Despite best efforts, the Jamali regime could not succeed in winning support of either the MMA or the PPP on issues related to continuation of Gen. Musharraf as army chief while being President and the controversial amendments to the Constitution. Mr. Jamali's victory over a month ago by a margin of one vote with the help of 13 or so parties and individuals had made his Government vulnerable to pressures. The inherent dangers were evident when the mercurial Muttahida Quami Movement decided to withdraw its support to the Jamali Government and subsequently returned to the treasury benches after extracting its pound of flesh. The additional 16 votes, secured by Mr. Jamali, were the result of defections from the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and by some members from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), who had earlier declared their allegiance to the MMA. Despite the additional 16 votes and the comfortable majority in the National Assembly, the Government would continue to be at the mercy of its coalition partners. For example, it could be reduced to a minority if the MQM decides to withdraw its support. The rebel group in the Benazir party, whose ranks in the Assembly have now swelled to 17, are capable of bringing down the Government. The only consolation for the Prime Minister is that he has nothing to fear till the end of June next as a confidence or a no confidence motion in the National Assembly could not be moved against his Government for six more months. The breathing space provided by today's victory gives Mr. Jamali enough room to be on his own and give a feel to the people that there indeed is a transfer of power from a military to a civilian set-up after the October elections. Barring the decision to reduce the power tariff by 12 paise per unit, the Jamali Government has hardly taken any decision in any sphere of life. All eyes would now be on Gen. Musharraf to see whether he would revive the 1993 Constitution in its totality. While reviving the Constitution after the October elections, he had kept some provisions in abeyance and his decision had attracted flak from the Opposition parties. Gen. Musharraf had promised to revive all provisions of the Constitution by December 31. At least a section of the legal and political observers believe that the restoration of the Constitution could pave the way for challenging some of the controversial decisions. These include Gen. Musharraf's continuation as Chief of Army Staff while being President and the Legal Framework Order, incorporating all the controversial amendments made to the Constitution.
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