ISLAMABAD: The polling for the election of the National Assembly speaker is under way amid protests by the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) lawmakers.
The NA session was convened today to elect the speaker and deputy speaker during which opposition lawmakers chanted slogans against alleged rigging in the Feb 8 polls.
Raja Pervaiz Ashraf is chairing the session till a new speaker is elected.
Once the elections for the speaker are held Ashraf would swear in the newly-elected custodian of the House.
After the oath-taking, the new speaker will then take charge of the house forthwith. Ashraf will, subsequently, step down from his position.
The new speaker will conduct the election of the deputy speaker immediately after taking charge.
Who are the candidates?
The SIC, which comprised mostly of PTI-backed independents that won the elections, has nominated Malik Aamir Dogar as its candidate for the speaker and the political party has submitted nomination papers of Junaid Akbar for the post of deputy speaker.
Whereas, the allied parties have nominated Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Sardar Ayaz Sadiq and Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) Syed Ghulam Mustafa as candidates for the posts of speaker and deputy speaker, respectively.
Today’s session
Before the session started SIC’s parliamentary party meeting was held in the house’s lobby, where they vowed to continue their protest in the assembly.
This is the second consecutive day that SIC has been protesting in the National Assembly over “rigged” results.
As the session began, Speaker Ashraf asked if there were any new members present who had missed the oath-taking a day earlier.
As no new members came forward, the speaker then gave the floor to PTI-backed Omar Ayub Khan to speak on a point of order.
The lawmaker alleged that foreigners were present in the house.
“People who got fake mandate have entered the house, hence, they should be expelled,” said Omar, adding that “prisoner number 804”, the number assigned to PTI founder Imran Khan in Adiala Jail, should be brought to the Assembly.
The MNA, who had a sore throat, said they would raise their voice even if their throat is sore or slit.
Ayub reiterated that the House was incomplete as the ECP is yet to announce the allocation of reserved seats in the National Assembly.
After Ayub spoke, the speaker informed him that the lawmakers that were sitting in the House were those who were declared as winners by the Election Commission of Pakistan after the February 8 elections. He also added that if they had an objection then they should approach the ECP.
The speaker’s comments infuriated the SIC members.
Following this, the speaker began the process for the speaker’s election.
MQM-P, PML-N agree to amend Article 140
During the proceedings today, a drama unfolded when the MQM-P surprisingly walked out of the house and boycotted the polling process for the speaker.
PML-N leaders including the nominee for speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq went after them in Committee Room No. 2 to win over them to return to the house and participate in the voting process.
In return, the MQM-P demanded a constitutional amendment to empower the local bodies.
After negotiations, the PML-N acceded to MQM-P’s demand and agreed to a constitutional amendment in Article 140.
Ahsan Iqbal and Mustafa Kamal signed the agreement on PML-N and MQM-P’s behalf respectively.
JUI-F boycotts
Raising serious reservations over the 2024 election results, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has announced that his party would not participate in the elections for the top political slots — president, prime minister, and the National Assembly (NA) speaker.
The JUI-F leader, speaking to journalists in Islamabad Thursday, said his party would sit in the opposition and its lawmakers would abstain from voting during the upcoming electoral events in the assemblies.
In response to a question regarding JUI-F’s strategy for a protest movement, he said: “Wait for it. We will represent the nation soon.”.
