Upper House
ISLAMABAD: Amidst a boycott by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), the upper house of parliament is poised to elect its chairman and deputy chairman today, nearly a month after it became inactive following the retirement of half of its members on March 11.
With 43 senators set to take oath as members of the house, a schedule will be announced for the elections to the offices of chairman and deputy chairman on the same day, as per the Senate Secretariat’s statement.
The session is scheduled to commence at 9 am, with the oath-taking, followed by the announcement of the election schedule at 12:30 pm.
In the absence of opposition, the ruling alliance is likely to secure the positions, with the chairmanship expected to go to PPP’s Yousaf Raza Gilani and the deputy chairmanship to a PML-N candidate.
Despite the PML-N not having announced its nominee yet, PPP leaders are actively campaigning for Gilani’s victory, with a special committee reaching out to other political parties to ensure his win.
Meanwhile, the PTI has opted to continue its boycott following the postponement of Senate elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
This decision comes after the KP speaker failed to administer oath to lawmakers elected on reserved seats, leading to the withholding of 11 seats from the polls.
The PTI spokesperson decried the election of the chairman and deputy chairman without representation from all federating units as “unconstitutional and unacceptable.”
The spokesperson vowed PTI’s resistance against the “insult” to the upper house, condemning the selection of unelected individuals for constitutional positions.
Labeling it as part of a conspiracy, the spokesperson criticized the biased efforts to exclude an important federating unit from the electoral process, fostering discord and hatred.
The Senate’s unique conundrum stems from the failure of the Election Commission of Pakistan to conduct timely general elections, leaving vacant seats unfilled.
With 18 senators elected unopposed and 11 seats from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa postponed, the electoral process has faced setbacks, fueling controversy and disruption.
