LAHORE (Dunya News) – Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has been elected as the speaker, and Malik Zaheer Iqbal Channer as the deputy speaker of the Punjab Assembly.
Malik Ahmad Khan secured 224 votes, defeating Sunni Ittehad Council’s Malik Ahmad Khan Bhachar, who managed to garner only 96 votes.
Similarly, Malik Zaheer Iqbal Channer clinched 220 votes, surpassing Sunni Ittehad Council’s Moeen Riaz, who obtained 103 votes.
Voting process
Three polling booths were designated for the election, where a total of 324 lawmakers from both the treasury and opposition benches participated in the secret ballot.
Swearing-in ceremony
Following the announcement of results, outgoing speaker Sibtain Khan administered the oath to Malik Ahmad Khan as his successor.
PML-N Chief Organiser Maryam Nawaz congratulated Malik Ahmad Khan on his victory, with PML-N lawmakers expressing their jubilation with cheers and chants.
After his swearing-in, Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan presided over the assembly's remaining proceedings and conducted the election for the deputy speaker position.
Inaugural session
The inaugural session, originally scheduled for 4:00 pm, commenced with a delay of one and a half hours. The session was marked by commotion when legislators from the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) [which includes PTI-backed MPAs] shouted slogans against PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif upon the arrival of chief minister-designate Maryam Nawaz in the House. In response, PML-N lawmakers raised slogans against the founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
The ongoing session will recommence on Feb 26, Monday, at 11:00 am.
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Nominations for slot of Punjab chief minister
The nomination papers for the position of Punjab chief minister will be received by 5:00 pm Sunday, while scrutiny will be completed by 5:10 pm.
Resignations
Sixteen newly-elected members are vacating their seats, including Ahsan Iqbal, Aleem Khan, Owais Leghari, Rana Tanveer Hussain, Hamza Shahbaz, Salik Hussain, and PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif, who has vacated two provincial seats.
Oath of additional members
During the inaugural session, outgoing Speaker Sibtain Khan administered the oath to six additional unelected members of the assembly. Among those who took the oath were Hafiz Farhat of the Sunni Ittehad Council, Nawabzada Wasim Badami and Chaudhry Shafay Hussain of the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid.
Speaker's statement
Outgoing Speaker Sibtain Khan stated that Mian Aslam Iqbal, SIC’s nominee for the slot of Punjab chief minister, had yet to take the oath. He emphasised that he would not allow anyone to be arrested on the assembly premises and noted the lack of a level-playing field for PTI-backed candidates. He was talking to media outside the assembly.
Request to postpone election
The SIC requested the chair to postpone the election of the speaker and deputy speaker until Feb 26, citing the absence of all members in the Assembly. However, the outgoing speaker decided to proceed with the proceedings and the election.
MPAs-elect take oath
Earlier on Friday, more than 300 MPAs-elect in Punjab on Friday took oath pledging to serve the country to the best of their abilities. The swearing-in ceremony means the Punjab Assembly has begun its fresh journey after the Feb 8 general elections.
The crucial Punjab Assembly session got under way after a delay of more than two hours on Friday.
As many as 215 members of the PML-N and allies reached the assembly which saw sloganeering and protest by the Sunni Ittehad Council members. The two sides raised slogans against each other. There were 97 members of the opposition.
Punjab Assembly Speaker Sibtain Khan administered oath to the newly-elected members.
Earlier, the session to elect the chief minister, the speaker and the deputy speaker was delayed. Officials cited no reason for delay in the all-important session, saying it's a usual practice.
The speaker later made it clear that the MPAs-elect would be administered oath in the first session and the election of the chief minister, speaker and deputy speaker would take place in the next session as the Election Commission of Pakistan had yet to take a decision on reserved seats.
PTI's candidate for the office of chief minister, Mian Aslam Iqbal, could not reach the assembly. The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has named Haider Gilani as parliamentary leader. Meanwhile, PML-N's Malik Ahmed Khan is expected to be made speaker of the provincial assembly.
Marriyum Aurangzeb, who remained central information secretary, took oath as an MPA and will assist Maryam Nawaz who is expected to take on the mantle of chief minister office. PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif and president Shehbaz Sharif have decided to give the role to Marriyum Aurangzeb.
As a tradition, the treasury members have been allotted seats on the right of the speaker, while the opposition was allotted seats on the left.
Meanwhile, the PML-N sources revealed that Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan was likely to be made the speaker instead of Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman.
Maryam Nawaz withdraws from NA-119
Maryam Nawaz has sent a letter of withdrawal from NA-119 to the Election Commission of Pakistan. The ECP will conduct by-elections on this seat. The PML-N leader has retained the provincial assembly seat.
Initial report
The newly-elected members of the Punjab Assembly are set to take oath today (Friday), thus formally launching the process to form the government in Pakistan’s most-populated province.
It is necessary to convene the first session of the House within 20 days of holding elections which were held on Feb 8, resulting in the PML-N gaining the largest number of seats in the provincial legislature.
However, the PML-N – which has nominated Maryam Nawaz, the party’s chief organiser and political scion of three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif, for the chief minister’s slot – has managed to get the support of a large number of independents.
As a result, it is expected Maryam will become the first woman chief minister in the country’s history with the backing of over 190 directly-elected members as well as many of those entering the Punjab Assembly on the reserved seats for women and minorities.
However, the number of reserved seats to be allocated to different parties isn’t clear as the PTI-backed independents have joined the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will determine whether it is eligible for the purpose.
During the session starting at 10am, the House will first elect the speaker and the deputy speaker and then the chief minister.
On the other hand, the PML-N has summoned the meeting to be chaired by Maryam of its parliamentary party at 9am before the start of Punjab Assembly session.
Earlier on Wednesday, the PML-N chief organiser had told a meeting of her party’s MPAs that she would repeat the development work carried out by her father and uncle [Shehbaz Sharif] during their multiple stints as the provincial chief executive.
Listing a long list of targets, he said the PML-N would develop five IT cities in Punjab, provide loans to youth and improve the health and agriculture sectors besides attracting foreign investment.