Imran Khan faces no-trust vote: How does no-confidence motion work in Pakistan

The Lower House of Pakistan’s Parliament will be meeting today for a debate on the no-confidence motion that has been tabled by the joint opposition against Prime Minister Imran Khan to topple his government which has lost the majority after a key partner of the ruling coalition walked away and joined the Opposition.

Timeline

The Opposition filed the no-confidence motion earlier this month and it was tabled on March 28 under Article A-95 of the Constitution. It had 161 members as signatories. The vote needs to be carried out no sooner than three days and no later than seven days after the no-confidence motion is tabled before the National Assembly. In this case, the earliest the vote can happen is Thursday and the latest is Monday.

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How does no-confidence vote work in Pakistan?

In Pakistan, the candidate with the majority in the lower house National Assembly, which has 342 members, is elected as prime minister. This means that a candidate needs at least 172 votes or more to become prime minister, which is the same number of votes needed to pass a no-confidence vote against him and his cabinet.

Though Imran Khan needs 172 votes in the lower house to foil the Opposition’s bid to topple him. However, he could still survive a no-confidence vote if he gets fewer votes than the opposition.

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Imran Khan’s strategy to survive 

The cricketer-turned-politician has reportedly ordered all Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf legislators to not attend the assembly on the day of the vote to lessen any chance of dissidents that are secretly supporting the motion to topple his government.