POLITICAL STRUCTURE OF FEDERALISM

The political structure of the 1973 Constitution promises a bicameral legislature at the centre and is described further, with particular atten­tion paid to the relations between the National Assembly and Senate, earlier in this volume.^[387] Notable for this discussion is that the popula­tion-based constituency mapping of the National Assembly reflects the heavy majoritarianism of the Punjab and that the design of the Senate is strictly counter-majoritarian.

Provincial legislatures are all unicameral assemblies that follow an electoral formula that mirrors that of the federal Assembly; women’s and minority seats are determined on the same proportionate basis as for the National Assembly.^[388] Elections for provincial assemblies are held on the same day as a federal election and electors thereby signal their choice for both levels of government simultaneously. The head of government for provinces is the Chief Minister, who is directly elected from the Assembly, along with Speaker and Deputy Speaker, usually on first sitting. In contrast to provisions for the National Assembly, no constitutional minimum is imposed upon the provincial Assemblies for the numbers of sittings that each Assembly must record. Other mat­ters of Assembly functioning are Westminsterian in general form and include provisions for a vote of no-confidence by the Assembly. The executive authority in the province, by way of Article 129, is to be exer­cised in ‘in the name of the Governor by the Provincial Government, consisting of the Chief Minister and Provincial Ministers’.^[389]

The President of the Federation appoints a Governor for each of the provinces as the federation’s representative.

Governors are required to ratify Bills passed by the Assembly and can send a Bill back with suggestions for alteration. However, where the Assembly once again assents to the Bill, with or without incorpora­tion of the Governor’s advice, the Governor’s assent will be deemed to have been given. In addition, Governors have the power to issue Ordinances in times when the provincial Assembly is not in session and where the Governor is ‘satisfied that circumstances exist which render it necessary to take immediate action’.^[390] These powers are a direct corol­lary of the Federal Ordinance powers that are elaborately discussed in an earlier chapter of this book.^[391]

A further set of institutional mechanisms were forged in the 1973 Constitution to enjoin the two levels of government in cooperating towards developing a common economic policy and in resolving inter­provincial disputes in certain areas. The National Economic Council (NEC) and the Council of Common Interests (CCI) each comprise the membership of the Prime Minister and the Chief Ministers of the four provinces, as well as some additional nominated members. The NEC was intended to form a platform for cooperative economic planning and the CCI was to facilitate policy-setting in areas within the concur­rent list and after the Eighteenth Amendment, in matters reduced down to those enumerated within Article 142(b).^[392] Additionally, by a majority vote, inter-provincial disputes arising in reference to water and electric­ity use and distribution are to be settled in the CCI.^[393]

II.