Sanjrani gets back Chairmanship of Senate, beating Gilani

F.P. Report

ISLAMABAD: On March 12, the elections of Chair-man and Deputy Chairman of Senate were held, in total 98 senators participated to elect Chairman for a 3 years term.

In the electoral process, competition for the seat of Chairman, the ruling PTI’s candidate Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani, was nail biting, resulting in Sanjrani getting 48 votes, this eventually declared defeated Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)’s joint candidate Yusuf Raza Gilani, who secured 42 votes.

Before the commencement of the electoral process, Senate Secretary Mohammad Qasim Samad Khan welcomed all existing and newly-elected members and handed over the chair to Senator Sayed Muzfar Hussain Shah, who had been nominated as Presiding Officer for special sitting of the House by President Dr Arif Alvi.

Both slots to the PTI-backed candidates Sadiq Sanjrani and Mirza Muhammad Afridi managed to win the elections.

In the House of 100 se-ats, as many as total 98 vo-tes were polled in the election of Senate Chairman as Senator Mushtaq Ahmed of Jamaat-e-Islami withhold from the voting process.

On the other hand, the notification of PML-N’s Ishaq Dar was suspended by the Election Commi-ssion of Pakistan due to his continued nonattendance and stay abroad.

In total, eight votes were rejected on technical ground, giving Sadiq Sanjrani a major win.

On the other hand, during the election of Deputy Chairman, 54 senators vo-ted in the favour of Mirza Afridi, whereas, 44 votes went to the PDM candidate Abdul Ghafoor Haideri.

Earlier in the day, as many as 48 newly-elected senators took oath of allegiance to Pakistan in the Upper House of the Parliament for a term of six years.