ISLAMABAD, Oct 14(ABC): The Supreme Court on Friday said that the counting of votes against the party policy is a threat to the democratic system.
The Supreme Court issued a detailed written decision on the interpretation of Article 63-A, the said decision was written by Justice Munib Akhtar, while the decision consists of 95 pages. In the written judgment issued by the Supreme Court, the judgment began with the words of Chief Justice Marshall, in which he said, “We must not forget that our job is only to interpret the Constitution.”
“Votes of defecting members against party instructions shall not be counted and the period of disqualification of defecting members shall be determined by Parliament,” the judgment said. Members of Parliament have complete freedom of expression but this freedom of voting cannot be exercised in the light of Article 63A.
According to the verdict, “The objections raised to the admissibility of the Presidential Reference are rejected as per the majority judgment. The Supreme Court has already responded to the objections raised on the Presidential Reference in the Wukala Mahaz case.”
The court further stated, “The rights given to all political parties in the constitution are equal, all political parties are equal in the eyes of the constitution, even small parties should have full freedom to work, and the defection of members affects the integrity and harmony of political parties. There is a direct attack, the defection of the members from the party is against the constitutional rights of the political party. If the defection of the members is not stopped, there will be no fair competition in the political parties.”
