PPP's Yousaf Raza Gilani and PML-N's Saidal Khan Nasir have been elected Senate chairman and deputy chairman unopposed, as the opposition PTI boycotted the elections to the two constitutional offices.
They were elected unopposed, as no other candidate submitted nominations against them in the stipulated time period, with the PTI boycotting the elections.
Earlier, the session of the Upper House of parliament to administer oaths to the newly elected senators, as well as elect the chairman and deputy chairman of the House, had begun with Senator Ishaq Dar presiding over.
As the session kicked off, Foreign Minister Dar emphasized the establishment of good parliamentary traditions, amidst protests by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) members. Later, 41 out of the 43 newly elected senators were sworn in, including 35 elected members and six successful candidates from by-elections.
Two newly elected members, Faisal Vawda and Maulana Abdul Wasay, did not take oath. Senator Dar administered the oath to the remaining members.
PTI boycott
Prior to the oath-taking, opposition leader Ali Zafar from the PTI called the House incomplete, which was why the chairman and deputy chairman could not be elected. If the members are elected without representation from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the federation will suffer, he added.
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"Until the Senate is complete, any election will be morally and constitutionally illegitimate. It is illegal to take oath in the absence of senators from KP. Why are we making the election of chairman and deputy chairman controversial?" the PTI leader quipped while addressing on the floor of the House.
He further said the PTI wanted to participate fully in the election, but said the Senate session was not going according to the Constitution. Therefore, he said they would not be part of this House.
The presiding officer remarked that no action could be taken before the swearing-in of the newly elected members, adding that whatever was happening was wrong.
While PTI's Mohsin Aziz said the postponement of Senate election was an illegal demand, he also maintained that without the presence of KP members, the session would be illegal. "Even if the election is postponed today, what will be so wrong? We will not be part of this unconstitutional and illegal process," he asserted.
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Presiding Officer Dar invited the law minister to clarify the legal position, who said such discussion could not be allowed before administering the oath to new members. Everything is clearly written in Article 60, he said, adding that Ali Zafar and Mohsin Aziz presented legal points and Zafar had more experience than him.
"The KP Senate election was not postponed due to any natural calamities. The members on reserved seats were not administered the oath in the provincial assembly. The governor called a session, but the speaker threw the orders to the wind. The issue is also in court. The election commission then halted the Senate election in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa due to absence of oath," the law minister explained.
Day's agenda
After the oath, Presiding Officer Ishaq Dar announced the schedule for the election of the chairman and deputy chairman, which would be held at 12:30pm. The session was adjourned till then. The candidates vying for the positions would until then receive and submit their documents to the Senate secretary. The documents would be scrutinised at 11:30am, with the polling taking place at 12:30pm.
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The Senate Secretariat will release the final list of candidates participating in the election. As the session resumes, the election of the chairman and deputy chairman will be conducted through a secret ballot, for which 85 senators will vote.
The chairman and deputy chairman will be elected through a simple majority in the House. The total number of members in the Upper House is 96, while currently its strength is 85, as the Election Commission of Pakistan has postponed the election on 11 seats from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The PTI has decided to boycott the election over the session not being postponed, due to which the ruling coalition's candidate for the chairmanship, Yousaf Raza Gilani of the PPP, is poised to be elected unopposed. On the other hand, the PML-N has nominated Syedal Khan Nasir for the post of deputy chairman.
Before the session, speaking exclusively to Samaa TV, PTI Senator Ali Zafar, who is also the leader of the opposition in the House, called the scheduled election of chairman and deputy chairman completely illegal and unconstitutional. He said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's representation in the Senate was presently half, and they would first demand the session be adjourned until the senators from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa took oath.
"We will record the protest positively, but will not field candidates," he added.
