Pervaiz Elahi managed to secure enough numbers to get a vote of confidence from the Punjab Assembly, in a chaotic session that stretched past midnight.
Amid a noisy protest from the opposition and jubilation on the treasury benches, CM Elahi thanked Imran Khan as well as the members from PTI and PML-Q for helping him secure the majority.
The vote took place after the Lahore High Court gave the CM 24 hours to get to the required number of atleast 186 votes to remain CM. The vote of confidence was initially called by the governor of the province in December.
The session began at 5pm on Tuesday, with opposition members initially insisting that the vote take place immediately. Federal Minister for Interior Rana Sanaullah and SAPM Atta Tarrar watched the proceedings from the gallery.
However, as the ruling coalition actually proceeded towards the vote, the opposition created ruckus alleging that the vote was not being carried out impartially.
The final push was made possible after two PTI MPAs made a surprise appearance in assembly. This enabled Elahi to get 186 votes, the exact number required to be successful. PTI leaders Asad Umar and Fawad Chaudhry were also present in the assembly.
Rana Sanaullah later alleged that the vote had been ‘bulldozed’ without due procedure. PML-N sources said that the proceeding will be challenged in court. Atta Tarrar also said that not allowing polling agents to be appointed was evidence of an ‘unfair’ vote.
With the vote of confidence carried out, speaker Sibtain Khan submitted a response in the Lahore High Court saying that the chief minister had the confidence of the house.
Justice Asim Hafeez remarked that now that the vote had been carried out, there was no longer any room for the governor’s objection. However, the judge also called it ‘strange’ that the PTI had challenged the legality of the governor’s order to hold a vote but then organised the vote anyway.
The provincial attorney general also agreed that with the vote being over, the matter had been resolved.
