ISLAMABAD: The Senate of Pakistan on Friday elected the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) candidate Sadiq Sanjarani as chairman of the Upper House, defeating the Opposition’s candidate Yousuf Raza Gilani.
Sanjrani received 48 votes, while Gillani bagged 42. Eight of the 98 votes in total were rejected, including one that had a stamp on both names. However, presiding officer Syed Muzaffar Hussain Shah overruled their objection, saying the seven votes were rejected because they were not stamped correctly.
The polling for the top post of the Senate began after 3PM and was overseen by officers of the Senate staff. An officer called out names of senators in alphabetical order who collected ballot papers from officials and cast their votes at the polling booth. JUI-F’s Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri was the first senator to be called to make his choice.
Shah, who cast the last vote, announced around 4:40PM that all 98 senators present in the house had cast their votes after which the counting began at 5pm. The two voters that did not vote were Ishaq Dar, who is yet to take the oath while Jamaat-e-Islami Senator Mushtaq Ahmed abstained from voting.
After being declared the winner, Sanjrani took the oath of his office amid a ruckus from the opposition. PPP Senator Farooq H. Naek strongly objected to the rejection of seven votes, saying it could have made the difference for Gilani.
Sadiq Sanjrani is the youngest and first chairman of the Senate from Balochistan who has been elected as Chairman Senate twice in a row. Government lawmakers have congratulated the newly-elected Chairman Senate while the opposition raised their objections.
PTI Senator Faisal Javed Khan tweeted in excitement right after the result was announced and thanked the people for praying for the government-backed candidate’s victory. “Alhamdulillah!!! Pakistan has won!! … Imran Khan has won!! Awam has won!!! Corruption has been defeated…. This victory belongs to the whole Nation. Thanks for your prayers!” he said.
Federal Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari congratulated the new chairman Senate, saying it was a well-deserved victory. PTI leader Usman Dar congratulated Sanjrani on winning the “last battle on the Senate front”. He hoped that members of the opposition would accept Prime Minister Imran Khan’s demand to conduct elections via open ballot.
Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar hoped the newly elected chairman would run the house as efficiently as he did in his previous tenure. Adviser to Prime Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Babar Awan said democracy had been strengthened in the Senate.
Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, Senator Ejaz Chaudhry, and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi also congratulated the newly elected chairman on the occasion.
Meanwhile, the Opposition lawmakers and leaders slammed the government and alleged that there was rigging in the elections. Former federal minister Ahsan Iqbal said seven votes cast in Gilani’s favour were rejected. He said Gilani would have received 49 votes and defeated Sanjarani if the votes were not discarded.
Khawaja Saad Rafique said the opposition’s majority has been proved in the elections as the presiding officer had rejected seven authentic votes. “Congratulations to the democrats and constitutionalists of Pakistan on the PDM’s great victory in the election of chairman Senate,” he said.
