PPP contacts political parties for support in Senate chairman's election

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan People’s Party has stepped up contacts for the Senate’s chairman’s election scheduled on April 09 (tomorrow), ARY News reported on Monday.

The members of special committee of the PPP have initiated contacts with various political parties to seek vote for the party’s candidate for the top office of Senate, Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani.

Senator Sherry Rehman and Naveed Qamar have approached to former PM Gillani and devised a strategy for the chairman’s election.

Sherry Rehman has said that Yousaf Raza Gillani enjoys clear majority in the Senate and the PPP with its allies, will show its supremacy in the house tomorrow (Tuesday).

It is to be mentioned here that President Asif Ali Zardari has summoned the Senate’s session at 9:00am tomorrow.

The newly elected senators will take oath in the Senate session, while the chairman and deputy chairman’s election will be held on the same day.

The president earlier signed a summary of appointing Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar as the presiding officer of the senate session on the advice of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

The election commission notified 37 candidates elected on the Senate seats in recent election.

The Senate elections on 11 seats of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly remain pending.

The election of chairman and deputy chairman Senate, in the absence of 11 members on KP seats, would raise questions on the credibility of this process, analysts said.

No election schedule issued yet for the Senate election on 11 vacant seats of KP.