The PMLN-led federal government managed to secure two-third majority for the passage of the constitutional amendment in the National Assembly in the wee hours of Monday, shorty after it was passed by the Senate.

President Asif Ali Zardari is expected to grant his assent to the amendment at a ceremony today.

This major change in the constitution will allow the parliament to appoint chief justice of Pakistan from existing members of the apex court. It will also provide for a mechanism to set up constitutional benches to hear constitutional matters.

Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar introduced the amendment bill in the National Assembly.

After specs from treasury and opposition benches, the amendment was passed in the early hours of Monday.

At least 225 members of the National Assembly supported the motion, while 12 members from the PTI and the Sunni-Ittehad Council (SIC) opposed it.

In addition to the government’s 211 votes, eight JUI members and six independent members also voted for the amendment.

PTI-backed Independent MNA Zahoor Qureshi, Mubarak Zeb and Usman Ali were brought into the National Assembly after the session had begun. PML-Q backed Chaudhry Ilyas was also seen sitting in the treasury benches.

Nawaz Sharif, PM Shehbaz Sharif, Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari were all present in the house when the bill was introduced.

The session was adjourned just before midnight for around 10 minutes, to reconvene at 12:05 am. This is when speeches began.

The numbers

The ruling coalition in the National Assembly required at least 224 votes to pass the constitutional amendment, but it held only 211 seats.

This included 111 PML-N, 69 PPP, 22 MQM, 5 Q-League, 4 IPP, and one each from PML-Zia, Balochistan Awami Party, and the National Party.

With three coalition members facing references, the total government number was 211. Including the support of 8 JUI members, the total rose to 219, leaving the government needing an additional 5 votes to pass the amendment.

The opposition holds 80 seats from the Sunni Ittehad Council, 8 PTI-supported independents, and one each from the Balochistan National Party, Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen, and the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party.

This is how four PTI backed independent MNA and one PMLQ MNA who returned the party at the eleventh hour played a key role to tilt the scales.

The Senate Sunday evening passed the 26th Constitutional Amendment with a two-thirds majority.

In the Senate, the amendment received 58 votes from the government, 5 from JUI-F, and 2 from the Balochistan National Party.

PTI, Sunni Ittehad Council, and MWM members left the Senate chamber during the clause-by-clause approval of the amendment.