LAHORE: The country’s top electoral authority on Friday de-seated 25 dissident MPAs of the PTI who voted for PML-N’s Hamza Shehbaz in the election for Punjab chief minister, stating that they had defected from the party.

Chief Election Commissioner Sikander Sultan Raja announced the unanimous decision of the three-member bench. The Election Commission of Pakistan had reserved its decision on May 17 after hearing eight proceedings on the case.

Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Parvez Elahi on April 17 filed a reference in ECP against 25 PTI lawmakers, who defected from their party line and voted for Hamza.

List of 25 PTI dissident MPAs

1. Raja Sagheer Ahmed – PP-7 Rawalpindi-II
2. Malik Ghulam Rasool Sangha – PP-83 Khushab-II
3. Saeed Akbar Khan – PP-90 Bhakkar-II
4. Muhammad Ajmal – PP-97 Faisalabad-I
5. Faisal Hayat Jabwana – PP-125 Jhang-II
6. Mehar Muhammad Aslam – PP-127 Jhang-IV
7. Mian Khalid Mahmood – PP-140 Sheikhupura-VI
8. Abdul Aleem Khan – PP-158 Lahore-XV
9. Nazir Ahmed Chohan – PP-167 Lahore-XXIV
10. Malik Asad Ali – PP-168 Lahore-XXV
11. Muhammad Amin Zulqarnain – PP-170 Lahore-XXVII
12. Malik Nouman Langiral – PP-202 Sahiwal-VII
13. Muhammad Salman – PP-217 Multan-VII
14. Zawar Hussain Warraich – PP-224 Lodhran-I
15. Nazir Ahmed Khan – PP-227 Lodhran-V
16. Fida Hussain – PP-237 Bahwalnagar-I
17. Zahara Batool – PP-272 Muzaffargarh-V
18. Muhammad Sabtain Raza – PP-273 Muzaffargarh-VI
19. Muhammad Tahir – PP-282 Layyah-III
20. Mohsin Atta Khan Khosa PP-288 Dera Ghazi Khan-IV
21. Uzma Kardar – Women reserve seat
22. Aisha Nawaz – Women reserve seat
23. Sajid Yousaf – Women reserve seat
24. Ijaz Masih – Seats reserved for non-Muslims
25. Haroon Imran Gill – Seats reserved for non-Muslims

The decision comes after the Supreme Court ruling, which stated that the vote cast by dissident lawmakers will not be counted. The five-member bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial had announced the reserved judgment on the presidential reference, seeking interpretation of Article 63 (A) of the Constitution.

Sources on May 18 told Aaj News that the ECP decided to seek assistance from the Supreme Court’s verdict regarding presidential reference seeking interpretation of Article 63-A in a case pertaining to the disqualification of 25 dissident MPAs of the PTI.

PTI leaders hailed the ECP decision and lauded the efforts of its legal time. PTI leader Asad Umar maintained that the incumbent government has now no authority to rule after the verdict.

Accompanied by another party leader Farrukh Habib, he expressed hope the federal government would also quit with such a development.

The decision has further led the province to a political and constitutional crisis as the 371-member house will now be out of the 25 lawmakers. The incumbent Punjab CM would seek a vote of confidence from the house, as per the procedure. And, a candidate needs at least 186 votes to become the leader of the house.