KARACHI: The Sindh Assembly is scheduled to convene its first session on February 24 (Sunday), with the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) poised to form its government in the province for an unprecedented fourth consecutive term.
A notification issued by Sindh Governor Kamran Khan Tessori confirms that the inaugural session will commence at 11 am in the Sindh Assembly Building.
During the inaugural session, newly-elected members will take their oaths before proceeding to elect the speaker of the House, adhering to assembly protocols.
According to the procedural guidelines, the outgoing speaker will oversee the election process for the new speaker. In the event of their absence, a nominee selected by the provincial governor will preside over the proceedings.
Subsequent to the speaker’s election, attention will shift to electing a deputy speaker.
Once the speaker and deputy speaker are elected, the session will proceed to nominate one of its members as the chief minister.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) results reveal that PPP secured the highest number of provincial assembly seats (84), followed by MQM-P (28), with independent candidates clinching 14 seats, GDA and JI securing 2 seats each in the February 8 Sindh polls.
Additionally, PPP obtained 26 reserved seats for women and minorities, while MQM-P received eight reserved seats in accordance with their representation in the assembly.
Disputing the election results, PTI, JI, and GDA have jointly decided to protest against the alleged widespread “rigging” in the recent elections.
The parties have announced plans for province-wide protest demonstrations to coincide with the inaugural session of the Provincial Assembly.
Citing the elections as “rigged” and “anti-state,” GDA previously declared that its two winning candidates would not assume their roles as lawmakers.
Leading by example, JI Emir Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman disclosed his decision to relinquish his provincial assembly seat, PS-129 in Karachi, acknowledging that it was the PTI-backed candidate who emerged victorious, not himself.
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