PPP's Awais Qadir elected Sindh Assembly speaker, Anthony Naveed deputy speaker
Pakistan
Three members of the People’s Party (PPP) and the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) did not take oath.
KARACHI (Dunya News) – Awais Qadir Shah of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has been elected as the speaker, and Anthony Naveed as the deputy speaker of the Sindh Assembly.
Awais Shah bagged 111 votes, defeating his rival, MQM-P's nominee Advocate Sofia Shah who got 36 votes. Similarly, Anthony Naveed clinched 111 votes, surpassing MQM’s Rashid Khan, who obtained 36 votes.
Soon after the declaration of his victory, Awais Qadir Shah took oath as the speaker in the Sindhi language. When he rose to take oath, the PPP members raised slogan [long live Bhutto].
It may be recalled that the PPP has fielded Owais Shah and Anthony Naveed as candidates for speaker and deputy speaker, respectively, while the MQM-P has nominated Advocate Sofia Shah and Advocate Rashid Khan.
The speaker was elected through secret ballot.
Later, Awais thanked the party leadership for their confidence in him.
PTI-BACKED MEMBERS TAKE OATH
Earlier, nine independent members-elect of the Sindh Assembly, backed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and one member of the Jamaat-e-Islami took oath.
The session of the assembly started 19 minutes late under the chairmanship of Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani who administered oath to the newly-elected members.
Three members of the People’s Party (PPP) and the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) did not take oath.
It may be noted that 147 members took oath on Saturday and with the addition of 10 members today, the total number rises to 157. The Election Commission (ECP) had issued notification for 163 members-elect.
The PTI-backed members did not take oath on Saturday but the party leadership decided to join the assembly today.
Meanwhile, nomination papers for office of Sindh chief minister will be submitted today while the election will be held tomorrow (Monday).
Also read: Newly-elected Sindh Assembly members take oath amid pro-PPP sloganeering
The newly-elected members of Sindh Assembly took oath on Saturday during the inaugural session. Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani administered the oath to newly elected MPAs.
