- Election for speaker, deputy speaker being held today
LAHORE: Outgoing speaker Sibtain Khan on Friday administered oath to 313 newly-elected MPAs of the Punjab Assembly in the inaugural session.
Yesterday, Punjab Governor Muhammad Balighur Rehman had summoned inaugural session of the Punjab Assembly for oath-taking of the newly-elected members to set the path for new government to take over the powers.
Speaker of Punjab Assembly Sibatin Khan administered the oath to the elected representatives, marking their official induction into the legislative body.
PML-N’s nominee for Punjab chief minister Maryam Nawaz, former federal minister Marriyum Aurangzeb and PTI leader Aamir Dogar were among those in attendance.
It should be mentioned that this is the first time Maryam has been elected as a lawmaker.
Meanwhile, the schedule for the election of a new speaker and the deputy speaker of the house was also released. According to the schedule, the election for the speaker and the deputy speaker will be held on Saturday (tomorrow) through a secret balloting.
Strict security measures were put in place to avoid any untoward incident. More than 500 policemen have been deployed around the Punjab Assembly building.
Furthermore, APCs, water canon vehicles, and Anti-Riots Dolphin Force are also deployed.
Speaking outside the Punjab Assembly building, PML-N’s Ata Tarar said the people of Punjab gave a mandate to PML-N in the general elections held on February 8.
He said after the allocation of reserve seats, the number of PML-N MPAs has reached 210. Tarar said a new era of good governance is about to begin under the leadership of Maryam Nawaz.
The PML-N has nominated Maryam for chief minister, while the rival PTI has fielded Mian Aslam Iqbal for the slot. However, Iqbal is unavailable as he was said to be in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after getting bail from the Peshawar High Court.
According to the Feb 8 election results, the PML-N secured 138 general seats in the Punjab Assembly, while PTI-backed independents claimed 114.
Of the 23 other independent candidates not supported by the PTI, 20 have joined the PML-N, taking its tally to 158, while one has joined the PPP, which already bagged 10 seats.
The PML-Q clinched eight seats, while one seat each went to the Istehkam-i-Pakistan Party, Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan and Pakistan Muslim League-Zia.
Of the notified reserved seats, the PML-N has secured 36 seats for women and five seats for minorities to take its total number of MPAs to 199, comfortably above the required simple majority of 186 members.
Meanwhile, the PPP has three reserved seats for women, two have gone to the PML-Q and the IPP has just one seat.
Speaker, Deputy Speaker Elections
The elections for the Punjab Assembly speaker and deputy speaker will be held via a secret ballot in a session of the assembly tomorrow (Saturday).
The announcement was made by the PA speaker’s secretary after the newly-elected lawmakers took oath for their new role.
He said that the elections would be held under Rules 9 and 10 of the Rules of Procedure of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab, 1997.
The secretary further said that the nomination papers have to be submitted to him before 5pm today. The scrutiny of the papers for the slot of the speaker will be done at 5:10pm while that of the deputy speaker’s slot will be done at 5:20pm.
After the MPAs-elect administered oath, PML-N’s Malik Ahmad Khan and Malik Zaheer Iqbal Channer submitted their nomination papers for the slot of Punjab Assembly speaker and deputy speaker, respectively.
Meanwhile, PTI-backed Ahmad Khan Bhachar and Muhammad Moeenuddin Riaz Qureshi — who are now members of the Sunni Ittehad Council — submitted their papers for the speaker and deputy speaker positions.
PML-N, PTI-backed candidates chant slogans in face-off
Earlier, PTI-backed candidates elected to the Punjab Assembly chanted slogans in favour of their party and ex-premier Imran Khan, as they gathered outside the assembly.
According to video footage, the newly-elected lawmakers, who recently joined the Sunni Ittehad Council as per the PTI’s directions, chanted “Imran Khan, Imran Khan” as they reacted to chants from their political rivals in the PML-N.
The PTI-supported lawmakers could be hearing chanting: “Who will save Pakistan? Imran Khan, Imran Khan.”
‘Concerns Over Unequal Treatment In House’
After outgoing Punjab Assembly Speaker Sibtain Khan administered oath to the newly-elected lawmakers, he urged those in the gallery to “not spoil the atmosphere”.
“There is disturbance because of you. Please do not do this,” he said.
“And I am saying this personally that may God also give you courage to listen to each other patiently,” Sibtain added.
The speaker congratulated all MPAs on assuming their new role and wished them success.
Upon his arrival at the Punjab Assembly, Speaker Sabtain Khan voiced concerns regarding the unequal treatment of certain members within the assembly.
Addressing the media, Khan stated, “A level playing field is being provided to some while others face obstacles in their participation.”
Khan emphasized the need for fair access for all elected representatives and highlighted tightened security measures to ensure equitable opportunities within the assembly.
He further outlined the day’s agenda, noting that proceedings would solely focus on the oath-taking of newly elected members. Khan indicated readiness to proceed with the election of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker pending decisions from the Election Commission. Additionally, arrangements for seats allocated to women and minorities are pending confirmation.
The Speaker affirmed that today’s session would be limited to the swearing-in ceremony, with no further legislative action planned.
PTI-backed MPA-elect Khalid Dogar calls for Imran’s release
The PTI has shared a photo of Khalid Nisar Dogar, its party-backed MPA-elect from PP-231, holding a banner “outside the Punjab Assembly” demanding the release from jail of party founder Imran Khan.
Four-member panel formed to chair proceedings
A four-member panel of chairpersons has been formed who are authorised, in their nomination order, to chair proceedings of the Punjab Assembly in the absence of speaker and deputy speaker.
The panel, announced by the assembly speaker’s secretary in the following order, comprises: Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan — PP-179; Raheela Naeem — W304; Syed Ali Haider Gilani — PP-213; Saima Kanwal — PP-260.
Newly-elected Sindh MPAs to take oath today
Sindh Governor Kamran Khan Tessori has convened Assembly session tomorrow (Saturday) at Sindh Assembly Building during which newly elected Members of the Provincial Assembly will take oath.
The outgoing Speaker Sindh Assembly Agha Siraj Khan Durrani will preside the session and take oath from the elected MPAs.
After taking oath by the newly elected members of the provincial legislature, schedule for election of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker will be announced.
Meanwhile, Pakistan People’s Party has already nominated Sayed Murad Ali Shah for the slot of the Chief Minister Sindh.
