- 41 newly-elected senators sworn in as members of the Upper House of Parliament
- Ali Zafar demands postponement of chairman’s election until Senate elections in KP
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) candidate and former prime minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani and PML-N’s Syed Syedal Khan Nasir on Tuesday were elected unopposed as Chairman and Deputy Chairman respectively of Senate – the Upper House of the Parliament.
As many as 41 newly-elected senators were also sworn in as members of the Upper House of Parliament in the session that elected chairman and deputy chairman amid a noisy protest by the PTI, which had boycotted the election.
The newly-elected senators were administered oath by Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, who had won on a technocrat seat from Islamabad on April 2 and he was presiding officer for today’s session which began shortly after 9am.
Eighteen of the sworn-in senators belonged to PPP, 14 to PML-N, three to JUI-F, two to PTI, three independents and one each belonged to MQM, ANP and National Party.
The Senate session began amid noisy slogans raised by the PTI members. As the session was set into motion, Senate Secretary Qasim Samad Khan announced that the newly-elected senators would take their oath of office. He then said that the session would resume “in the afternoon” to elect the chairman and the deputy chairman.
The prominent among those who took oath were: Syed Yousuf Raza Gillani, Anwaarul Haq Kakar, Syed Mohsin Naqvi, Abdul Qadoos Bizenjo, Finance Minister Aurangzeb and ANP’s Aimal Wali. The newly-elected senators then exchanged pleasantries and signed the roll of members.
The session was then briefly adjourned before the election of the chairman and the deputy chairman.
In the meantime, PPP’s Saleem Mandviwalla told news website that Yousaf Raza Gillani and Syedal Nasir were elected unopposed as Senate chairman and as the deputy chairman, respectively.
Later, secretary Qasim confirmed the same.
When the session resumed at 12:30pm, Dar said that only Gillani’s nomination papers had been received, therefore, he was elected the Senate chairman. The PML-N leader then administered the oath to Gillani.
The PTI’s contention, as stated by Senator Ali Zafar on the floor of the House, was that the session for electing the chairman and deputy chairman should be postponed until after Senate elections were held in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He then announced the PTI would not participate in the election for the top slots.
“Without 11 senators of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the election process of chairman and deputy chairman of the Senate is unconstitutional. Under the Constitution, the President’s address is required at the beginning of the parliamentary year of the Senate and the National Assembly and the President cannot address the joint session of the Parliament until the swearing-in of the senators.
It is worth mentioning here that President Asif Ali Zardari will address a joint session of the Parliament on April 16 as per constitutional requirement.
Almost a month ago, the Upper House became dysfunctional following the retirement of half of its members.
On April 2, elections on vacant Senate seats were held in Islamabad, Punjab and Sindh, but not in PTI-ruled KP — where polls were delayed on 11 seats due to provincial assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati’s refusal to administer the oath to opposition lawmakers on reserved seats. These seats were doled out to the PPP, PML-N, and other parties after the ECP rejected a plea by the PTI and the Sunni Ittehad Council for the allocation of these seats.
Nonetheless, the ruling coalition in the Centre, led by the PML-N, swept the elections, securing 19 seats. After the elections, the coalition controls 59 of the 85 seats at present.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) meanwhile nominated Syedal Khan Nasir as its candidate for the post of deputy Senate Chairman. He is a PML-N leader from Balochistan. Nawaz Sharif announced the name of Syedal Khan in consultation with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Despite holding the Senate elections on April 2, the senate meeting could not be convened even after three days passed as per the constitutional binding. Anyhow, the first meeting of the Senate was called by the President today (on April 9).
Unlike the prevailing tradition, the swearing of members and election of chairman and deputy chairman will be done on the same day. Pakistan People’s Party has nominated Yousuf Raza Gilani as Chairman Senate.
PTI terms Senate chairman, dy chairman election ‘illegal’
The Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) on Tuesday declared the election of the Senate chairman and deputy chairman as “illegal and unconstitutional.”
Addressing the upper house before election, Barrister Ali Zafar said that the Senate was incomplete as Senators from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province yet to be elected. “Thus, the election of the chairman and deputy chairman of the house has been an unconstitutional and illegal step”.
Senator Ali Zafar pleaded for adjournment of the Senate session. ” The election of senate chairman and deputy chairman could harm the federation,” he warned.
In his address, SIC Senator Hamid Khan said that unless Khyber Pakhtunkhwa elections complete, the house will remain incomplete. He called the election of the senate chairman and deputy chairman as unconstitutional. “It is a disputed matter and has been pending in the Islamabad High Court,” Hamid Khan said.
