Senate Got A New Chairman
Senate Got A New Chairman: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) faced a defeat in the Senate election on Monday. The joint opposition’s candidate Sadiq Sanjrani beating PML-N Raja Zafar ul Haq was elected as Chairman Senate and Saleem Mandviwala defeating Usman Kakar got selected as Deputy Chairman. Sadiq took 57 out of a total of 103 votes, while Raja Zafar got 46. Mandviwala got 54 votes while Usman Kakar grabbed 44 votes. 98 votes were polled during the election of deputy chairman and no vote was rejected. Sanjrani, hails from the Chagai district, also polled his vote for Mandviwala and is the first ever Senate chairman from Balochistan.
The PPP and PTI supported Sanjrani after Balochistan Chief Minister Abdul Quddus Bizenjo pursued their support. He got support from FATA and independent senators from Balochistan, besides the MQM lawmakers.
PML-N Senator-elect Ishaq Dar did not take part in the voting due to his ongoing treatment. The most dominant slogan in the senate was ‘Ek Zardari Sab Pay Bhari’ (Zardari alone outweighs all). After taking oath Mandivwala waved his fist in the air to respond to the PPP senators. The polling held peacefully through a secret ballot. MQM’s five senators did not vote for the election for the post of deputy chairman as their leadership had announced a boycott. The margin of defeat of PML-N (46-57) candidate was quite surprising for many.
Sanjrani thanked PTI Chairman Imran Khan for his party’s support. PTI Chairman Imran Khan congratulated the new chairman in a tweet saying that this will strengthen the Federation. “We are happy for the people of Balochistan & for the federation of Pakistan,” He stated.
Former leader of the House Raja Zafarul Haq congratulated the new chairman on his election and said he was elected through a democratic process.
Talking to media persons, Senate Chairman Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani vowed to take along all in the Senate. He expressed his gratitude to ex-president Asif Ali Zardari and PTI Chairman Imran Khan and others for their support during his election as chairman of the Senate.