Punjab Assembly members to take oath tomorrow
Pakistan
The session's agenda also includes election of speaker, deputy speaker and chief minister
LAHORE (Dunya News/Web Desk) – The newly-elected members are set to take oath tomorrow (Friday) as the Punjab Assembly will meet, 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 February 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.
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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 tomorrow, 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 tomorrow 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.
