Islamabad: The country’s top electoral authority on Monday officially de-notified 25 dissident Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf MPAs who voted for PML-N’s Hamza Shehbaz in the election for Punjab chief minister.

The lawmakers were de-notified under Article 63A (4) of the Constitution, read the notification. The list includes 20 lawmakers from general seats, three for women, and two from reserved seats for non-Muslims.

The 25 votes were crucial to Hamza’s victory on April 16. Hamza Shehbaz had bagged 197 votes in the 371-seat Punjab Assembly, while Punjab Assembly Speaker Pervez Elahi received no votes as PTI and PML-Q lawmakers opted to stay away from proceedings.

Chief Election Commissioner Sikander Sultan Raja on May 20 announced the unanimous decision from the three-member bench. The Election Commission of Pakistan reserved its decision on May 17 after holding eight proceedings for the case. Elahi, on April 17, filed a reference in ECP against the 25 PTI lawmakers, who defected from their party line and voted for Hamza.

The 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 ECP decision came after a 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 announced the reserved judgment on the presidential reference, seeking interpretation of Article 63 (A) of the Constitution.

PTI leader Faisal Chaudhry on Monday wrote a letter to the CEC and informed the latter that Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz has lost the majority in the assembly after the ECP decision.

“Hamza should be stopped from working for the position,” it read, adding that the PTI also sent names for five seats to the ECP. The five names are Batool Janjua, Saira Raza, Fauzia Abbas, Hubkook Gul, and Samuel Yaqoob.