Yusuf Raza Gilani elected Senate chairman unopposed

ISLAMABAD: PPP leader Senator Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani was elected as Senate Chairman and PML-N’s Saidal Khan Nasir as deputy chairman unopposed amid a boycott of the election process by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

The newly-elected senators took oath amid noisy protests by the PTI terming the process of election of chairman and deputy chairman as “unconstitutional” due to an “incomplete house”.

President Asif Ali Zardari had summoned the house to meet for its inaugural session for the oath-taking of newly-elected members and the election of the Senate chairman and deputy chairman.

Senator Ishaq Dar presided over the session as the presiding officer as more than 40 newly-elected senators including Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Energy Minister Musadik Malik, and Finance Minister Mohammad Aurangzeb took oath.

The PTI members launched the protest and demanded adjournment of the house till the election of senators from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Speaking on the floor of the house, PTI leader Senator Ali Zafar demanded the Senate election be deferred as Article 59 of the Constitution requires 96 members to be present in the house for the election of its chairman and that the “process would be unconstitutional till the house is complete”.

“We will not accept this illegal election till the senators from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are duly elected and are present here,” he insisted. Lamenting that Senate polls in Punjab were held excluding the reserved seats, the PTI leader said that the election of the house’s chairman and deputy chairman are being made “controversial”.

“We wanted to participate in the election [of chairman and deputy chairman], however, we would not be part of it where it is ultra vires of the Constitution,” Senator Zafar added.

Blaming the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for making controversial decisions, he called for the Senate session to be adjourned till senators from KP are elected.

In response to the objections raised by the opposition members, Federal Law Minister Azam Nazeem Tarar stressed that Article 60 of the Constitution provisions elections for the posts of the Senate chairman and deputy chairman as soon as the key posts are vacated.

Lamenting the reasons behind the postponement of Senate polls in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), the law minister said that the elections weren’t postponed due to any calamity but the failure of the KP government in abiding by the orders of the Peshawar High Court.

“The House is complete for Constitutional purposes,” he concluded. He also blamed the PTI for creating obstacles in the election of senators from KP after which polls were postponed by the ECP.

Following legal explanation by the minister, Ishaq Dar gave his ruling on the matter and overruled the objection by the PTI.