(MENAFN- Gulf Times) The prevailing crisis in Baluchistan, triggered by the no-confidence motion against Chief Minister Sanaullah Zehri, will have no impact on the coming Senate elections in March if it remains confined to the province itself.
During background interviews, politicians, lawyers and constitutional experts were unanimous in their view that even if the Baluchistan Assembly is dissolved before March, it would have no effect on the Senate polls as long as the remaining four electorates (three provincial assemblies and National Assembly) are intact.
However, they believe that the absence of 11 senators from Baluchistan in the 104-member Senate can affect the outcome of election of chairman and deputy chairman, and that too in case of a close fight.
They are of the view that a real crisis can only be created if, following dissolution of the Baluchistan Assembly, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) also dissolve the assemblies of Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), respectively, sacrificing their governments a few months before the end of their term.
Interestingly, the country's Constitution is silent on the issue, perhaps because the makers of the first basic document in 1973 had not foreseen any such situation.
The political crisis in Baluchistan that unfolded last week after some legislators submitted a no-confidence motion against Zehri has deepened to such an extent that the ruling Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) and its allies in Islamabad now believe that it will impact not only the Senate elections but also the current set-up as they feel that the crisis might extend to KP and Sindh ,where the PTI and the PPP, respectively, are at the helm, to stop the coming elections for the upper house of parliament.
Senate Deputy Chairman Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri told reporters in Islamabad on Friday that the 'troika of PTI chief Imran Khan, PPP leader Asif Zardari, and Pakistan Awami Tehreek chief Allama Tahirul Qadri wanted to topple the PML-N federal government before March.
Similarly, Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal had referred to 'hidden forces for 'creating a situation in the country in which no one was sure whether the Senate election would be held in March or not.
Former Senate chairman Nayyar Hussain Bokhari said that there is no question of putting off elections of the upper house if one electoral college was missing, as other provinces could not be deprived of their right to elect representatives to the upper house.
He said as the members of the National Assembly elect the senators from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) and Islamabad, it could be said that out of six units represented in the Senate, five would be present even if the Baluchistan Assembly was dissolved.
Bokhari, who is also the PPP secretary general, said that since Baluchistan would not be completely wiped out from the Senate as its 12 members, out of 23, would be present in March, the election of Senate chairman and deputy chairman would be considered 'legitimised.
He is, however, of the view that in case of a close fight for the offices, the losing candidates could challenge the election before the court.
The former Senate chairman said one seat of the National Assembly from Fata had been lying vacant since 2013, but it did not mean that the whole assembly would stop functioning.
Mudassir Rizvi of the Free and Fair Election Network (Fafen), when contacted, said that he did not foresee any crisis in the wake of no-confidence motion against the Baluchistan chief minister.
He said that after the passage of the 18th Constitution Amendment, the process of dissolution of a provincial assembly had become complicated.
Rizvi said that if the vote of no-confidence against Zehri succeeds, the MPAs would be asked to elect a new chief minister.
And if the new Baluchistan chief minister desires to dissolve the assembly, he would have to consult the leader of the opposition for appointment of caretaker set-up.
He, however, said that a crisis-like situation could be created even without dissolution of the provincial assembly if a significant number of MPAs from Baluchistan submitted resignations.
In that situation, he said, the technical formula under which the quota of votes was reserved for election of a senator could be affected.
He said since the constitution was silent in this regard, the matter could be referred either to the court or the Election Commission of Pakistan.
The Senate is made up of 104 members 23 each from the four federating units, eight from Fata, and four from Islamabad.
The 23 seats allocated to a province comprise 14 general seats, four reserved for women, four for technocrats, and one for minority member.
The term of a senator is spread over six years, but 50% of the total members retire after every three years, and elections are held for new senators.
Elections to fill the seats allocated to each province are held in accordance with the 'system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote.
Fata senators are elected by members of National Assembly from the area, while the four senators on the reserved seats from Islamabad are elected by the members of the National Assembly.
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