PPP asks JI for support in Senate chairman election

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Thursday telephoned Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Chief Sirajul Haq and discussed matters pertaining to Senate chairman and deputy chairman polls, ARY News reported.

During the telephonic conversation, the overall political situation of the country was also discussed. PPP chairman sought JI’s support for the Senate chairmanship of the upper house of the Parliament.

The JI chief said that he will make a decision after consulting with party leaders.

Moreover, PPP leader Raza Rabani also telephoned Sirajul Haq and requested to vote for a PDM-backed candidate for the Senate chairman election.

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Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazal (JUI-F) general secretary and PDM candidate for Senate deputy chairman Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri also met with JI chief and sought JI’s support for the Senate deputy chairman election.

Race for Senate chairman, deputy chairman

The Senate will elect its chairman and deputy chairman after oath-taking of 48 newly elected members of the Upper House of Parliament in Islamabad tomorrow.

According to the senate Secretariat, the newly elected senators will take oath in a session to be convened on Friday morning.

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After the oath-taking, the session will be adjourned for submission of nomination papers for the chairman and deputy chairman slots. Later, the session will resume in the evening the same day to elect the chairman and deputy chairman of the Upper House.

The 11-party alliance Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) has nominated Senator-elect Yousuf Raza Gillani and JUI-F general secretary Ghafoor Haideri as joint candidates for the Senate chairman and deputy chairman slots, respectively.

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Whereas, the ruling PTI has fielded Sadiq Sanjrani and Mirza Muhammad Afridi for the coveted posts of Senate chairman and deputy chairman, respectively.

The opposition alliance has lead of four votes on the government and its allies in the 100-member House as the opposition has 53 senators, while the government and its allies have 47 members.

Senator Ishaq Dar won’t be able to cast his ballot due to which, the number of the opposition’s votes will be reduced to 52 while the number of the government senators has increased to 48 after independent senator Abdul Qadir joined the PTI yesterday.