ISLAMABAD: The ruling Tehreek-e-Insaaf’s (PTI) candidate Sadiq Sanjarani will win the elections for the Senate Chairman, scheduled to take place tomorrow (Friday), March 12, according to sources.
The Senate would elect its new chairman and deputy chairman in a close contest as there was a narrow margin in the numerical strength of Senators belonging to the government and the opposition parties.
Candidates for two of the highest constitutional posts will be elected through secret ballot after oath-taking of 48 new members of the Upper House of Parliament elected on March 3.
The ruling party and its allies have nominated the incumbent Chairman, Sadiq Sanjrani, against the joint opposition candidate Yousaf Raza Gillani, who bagged his Senate seat by staging an upset against Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, the Finance Minister.
The opposition has fielded Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, a Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam stalwart and former Deputy Chairman of the upper house, for the post of the Deputy Chairman whereas the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has nominated Mirza Muhammad Afridi, an independent Senator from erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), for the slot.
The government coalition – which includes the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), and the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) – has a total of 47 senators behind it.
The opposition parties, under the banner of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), have a total of 53 senators behind it. Discounting Ishaq Dar, who has not taken an oath, the opposition has 52 seats out of a possible 99. The opposition can easily win the top slots if lawmakers vote along the party lines.
