Change in CM’s election procedure
LAHORE: The Punjab Assembly on Thursday amended its Rules of Procedure as required under the 18th constitutional amendment to provide a procedure for election of the chief minister.
Under the amended rules, the right of the speaker to ascertain that who holds confidence of the majority in the house has been withdrawn and even in case of only one contestant the candidate cannot be elected unopposed chief minister.
Even if the only candidate fails to secure the majority of the total membership of the assembly, the speaker shall have to restart the election proceedings.
The house passed a resolution demanding that the federation pay hydle power generation dues to the province outstanding since 2004.
Earlier, acting speaker Rana Mashhud formed a four-member committee to investigate improper answers to written queries submitted by legislators.
Consisting of Malik Nadeem Kamran, Hasan Murtaza, Ali Haider Noor Niazi and Azma Bukhari, the committee will submit its report during next session of the house, which was prorogued sine die on Thursday.
Ms Bukhari and Mr Murtaza had sought intervention of the chair on a written answer, which read “the government knows the better”.
Notwithstanding pleas of Prisons Minister Iqbal Chunnar that it was only a misprinting (typographical error), MPAs demanded his resignation and a strict action against the officer who dared submit such an indecent answer.
Taking notice of it, the chair asked the minister to take action against the officer responsible and observed that if the parliament was supreme then such replies tantamount to be making fun of the elected house.
Announcing names of the committee, Mashhud sought report from the members into the incident by the next session.
Source: Dawn
Date:5/13/2011
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