third majority of the two Houses of Parliament – Senate (Upper House) and National Assembly (Lower House) – is required for an impeachment motion against President Pervez Musharraf to carry through. This means 296 lawmakers out of a college of 442 are need to pass such a resolution. The first step of the process is going to be a cakewalk. “Not less than half of the total membership of either House”, which stands at 171 in the National Assembly, is going to move a resolution to impeach the President. This is not a problem for the coalition's 237 MNAs (members of the National Assembly). Lower House Speaker Dr Fehmida Mirza will then transmit a notice to the President within three days. She will then summon (after not less than 7 days or more than 14) a joint session of both the Senate and the National Assembly. The joint sitting can then impeach the President if they have two thirds majority of the total membership. The ruling alliance has a total of 237 seats in the National Assembly. Throw in the seat each that the Balochistan National Party-Awami (BNP-A) and the National People's Party (NPP) are going to bring to the table and there'll be 239 MNAs voting for impeachment. The Senate is going to be a bit dodgy. The quadrangular alliance has 34 out of the 100 Senators that constitute the upper house. The Jamiat Ulemae Islam (JUI) has the largest number of Senators; 12, to the PPP's 10. The National Assembly has 18 and the Senate 12 independents. The coalition would have to woo them. __
