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This month has been rather eventful with the Senate elections and the polls for the top seats for the Upper House of parliament. The controversy has not ended as the opposition has decided to challenge the results in court, setting up new political and legal wrangling.
The PTI has emerged as the largest political party now in both Senate and National Assembly and will be keen to pass new legislation smoothly. It has also clinched the coveted posts of Chairman Senate and Deputy Chairman, delivering a heavy blow to the PDM after an upset in the Senate election. What we witnessed is hardly surprising as Senate elections are often marred by allegations of horse-trading, vote-buying and switched loyalties.
The results of the Chairman Senate shocked the opposition as its stalwart candidate Yousaf Raza Gilani lost to incumbent Sadiq Sanjrani. The revelation that seven votes were rejected has raised concerns as it could have tipped the result in his favour. Sanjrani received one more vote which implies that someone from the opposition voted for him. More surprising was the government’s candidate for Deputy Chairman who received ten more votes than the opposition’s candidate.
The Senate elections have been held under a cloud of suspicion, partly rising from the opposition’s unwillingness to hold elections by open ballot and from the government’s inability to bring crucial electoral reforms earlier. We witnessed all sort of tactics to make polls controversial including the presence of spy cameras in polling booth which was a deplorable incident in our political history.
The opposition has decided to challenge the results of Chairman Senate election in court. The results cannot be challenged in the election tribunal and there is no precedent of approaching the court. The opposition will have to weigh all legal options before it contests the results. The PDM also seems divided after the results and will have to ponder over the reasons for the defeat.
The defeat has certainly placed the PDM on the back foot and given a much need respite to the PTI government. The next course of action for the PDM is the long march but it is unlikely to yield the desired results, let alone oust the prime minister. The government should instead focus on public welfare and electoral reforms which will strengthen the democratic process in the country.
