ISLAMABAD: Voting for the Chairman Senate’s election has begun in the upper house of the Parliament, as the former Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani aims to serve a second consecutive, while the opposition alliance seeks to elect former Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani to the position.
As of now, the opposition commands a majority in the Senate with 52 members, whereas the ruling PTI and its coalition partners have 47 votes in the house. The voting began under Syed Muzaffar Hussain Shah as the Presiding Officer, while JUI-F’s Abdul Ghafoor Haideri cast the first vote.
The Chairman Senate will be elected first, who then will preside over the election of the deputy Chairman Senate. Since the promulgation of the 1973 Constitution of Pakistan 8 people have been elected as Senate Chairman, with PPP members having served the most frequently on the position. No woman has served on the position yet.
All of the present members had cast their votes, apart from the Jamat-e Islami senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan who was not present in the house. The Senate decided to wait till 5 pm, the pre-announced time of closure of polls unless the JI senator tells the house in writing that he will not be casting his vote.
The votes for Senate Chairman are now being counted, as the voting duration has lapsed. As of now, 48 votes have been accepted for Sanjrani, 43 for Gilani and 7 votes have been rejected; all of which were cast in favour of Yousaf Raza Gilani.
