PPP’s Yousuf Raza Gilani and PML-N’s Saidal Khan Nasir were elected Senate chairman and vice chairman as the opposition PTI boycotted the elections to the two constitutional bodies.
Since the PTI boycotted the elections and did not field candidates against other candidates within the stipulated time, they were not elected.
Before that, the Upper Chamber of the Mejlis began a meeting to administer the oath to the elected senators, as well as to elect the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, led by Senator Ishaq Dar.
At the start of the session, Foreign Minister Dar emphasized the establishment of good parliamentary traditions amid protests by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) members. Later, 41 of the 43 newly elected senators were sworn in, including 35 elected members and six successful candidates from the election.
The two newly elected members, Faisal Wawda and Maulana Abdul Wasai did not take the oath.
PTI Boycotted
Before taking the oath, Opposition Leader Ali Zafar from PTI called the DPR incomplete, so the Speaker and Deputy Speaker could not be elected. The federation will suffer if Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is elected without representation, members said.
The oath is invalid if there are no senators from the CP. Why are we debating the election of chairman and vice chairman?
He further said that PTI wants to participate fully in the elections but the Senate meeting is not based on the Constitution. That’s why they won’t be part of this room, he said.
The chief said that no action could be taken before the newly elected members were sworn in and that what happened was wrong.
PTI’s Mohsin Aziz said in the Senate that the postponement of the election was an illegal demand, but the absence of the KP members would make the session illegal. “Even if the election is postponed today, what is wrong? We will not be part of this unconstitutional and illegal activity,” he said.
