Balochistan Assembly votes out its speaker Aslam Bhootani
27 December, 2012
QUETTA: As many as 47 out of 64 members of Balochistan Assembly voted out Muhammad Aslam Bhootani as speaker in voting held on a no-trust motion against him in the assembly session on Wednesday.
The assembly session started with Deputy Speaker Syed Matiullah Agha in the chair. Forty-nine lawmakers were present in the House when balloting on the no-confidence motion against Bhootani started.
Three legislators, including Pakistan People's Party (PPP) parliamentary leader Mir Sadiq Umrani, PPP leader and minister Jan Ali Changezi and opposition member Tariq Ali Magsi, staged a walk out in protest against the no-trust motion.
Total 47 members cast their vote in favour of the no-trust motion to oust Bhootani from the office of speaker.
One member, however, cast his vote in favour of Bhootani.
Announcing the results of the balloting, Deputy Speaker Agha gave ruling that the resolution to oust Bhootani from the office of speaker "is adopted with a majority and Bhootani is no more speaker of Balochistan Assembly". Later, upon completion of other proceedings, the House was prorogued.
Bhootani, meanwhile, announced that he would move court against the voting held on the no-trust motion against him.
Addressing a news conference at Quetta Press Club, he termed the no-confidence motion and balloting "unconstitutional and illegal".
He alleged that treasury benches deliberately cast one vote against the no-confidence motion in order to develop an impression that the procedure of balloting was impartial and fair.
He said that with consultation of his lawyers, he was going to file a constitutional petition against the balloting on no-trust motion.
"I will file the petition with the court for which my legal advisers will advise me," he said.
He said that only the assembly's secretary is entitled to put his signature on the ballot paper of voting on no-trust motion but "today (Wednesday) the additional secretary committees signed ballots although he was not authorised to do so".
He said that ruling by Deputy Speaker Syed Matiullah Agha was "wrong and illegal".
"It is only the assembly secretary who shall deal with the procedure of no-trust motion and the deputy speaker has no right to stop him from his duty," Bhootani said.
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