Speaker Punjab Assembly Sibtain Khan says that a vote of confidence will be presented in the assembly in the first week of January after the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) postponed dissolving the assembly on December 23.

“The governor has written about the vote of confidence and no-confidence in his letter,” Sibtain said speaking on Aaj News programme Faisla Aap Ka with host Asma Shirazi. However, he added, “despite the no-confidence motion, we should morally take the vote of confidence and which the chief minister will take”.

Sibtain said that voting on a no-confidence motion might take 10 to 12 days. “There are rules present for the no-confidence motion. We have received the no-confidence notice, now we have to verify it, and it will take two to four days,” he explained.

Sabatin Khan went on to say that according to the Rules of Procedure of the Provincial Assembly 1997 “first notice comes that we have received and now we have to verify this notice with the ID card numbers of the signatories of the notice. “This phase will be completed within a day.”

He said that the chief minister and the opposition leader would elect the caretaker government with consensus. “The speaker will form a committee of the government and the opposition, if they do not agree, the decision will be taken by the election commission.”

Meanwhile, speaking on the programme Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Ataullah Tarar said that the Governor of Punjab was bound by the law and the constitution. “It is the prerogative of the Governor to ask the Chief Minister to take a vote of confidence.”

He said that the no-confidence motion is a 14-day process. “Pervez Elahi has lost his majority in the assembly and will not be able to get a vote of confidence, after which the election of the Chief Minister will be held, in which the one who gets more votes will win.”

He said he believes the notification de-notifying Elahi would be issued within the next few days.

Earlier in the day, Rana Sanaullah addressing a press conference in Lahore said that Pervaiz Elahi was no more the executive of the province as he did not take a vote of confidence as asked by Governor.

“Elahi constitutionally no more holds the CM office,” said Sanaullah, adding that the federal government will issue the notification as soon as it receives the governor’s order.

The interior minister once again reiterated that Governor Rule can be imposed in Punjab for a period of two months after approval from the cabinet.