'Musadik Malik cancelled vote after denied Deputy chairman slot'

ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Political Communication Dr Shahbaz Gill on Friday claimed that PML-N Senator Dr. Musadik Malik had voted against the PDM’s candidates during Senate elections after he was not nominated for the deputy chairman slot.

Taking to Twitter to make the revelation, Shahbaz Gill said that he had learned from a media friend that Musadik Malik allegedly wanted to become deputy chairman of Senate.

“After being denied the position, he purportedly voted for both candidates [on a single ballot paper] after being angry, which led to the cancellation of his vote,” he said.

It is pertinent to mention here that both the government-backed candidates won the Senate elections with Sadiq Sanjrani securing the chairman slot with 48 votes against 42 votes of his rival candidate Yousuf Raza Gilani while Mirza Afridi won the deputy chairman slot with 54 votes against the 44 votes polled to PDM candidate Abdul Ghafoor Haideri.

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has decided to challenge the victory of Sadiq Sanjrani as chairman Senate after its candidate Yousuf Raza Gilani lost owing to the seven rejected votes during the elections.

According to sources within the PPP, the party has decided to challenge the victory of Sadiq Sanjrani in the election tribunal.