Senate to convene today for chairman and deputy chairman election

ISLAMABAD: The upper house of parliament Senate is set to convene on Monday (today) for the swearing-in ceremony of recently elected members and the election of Senate Chairman and Deputy Chairman.

President Asif Ali Zardari called the Senate session, despite objections from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) over concerns about an “incomplete house.”

The proceedings will commence with 85 senators expected to swear the oath. This will be followed by an announcement by the Secretary Senate of the presiding officer responsible for overseeing the election process.

Read more: IHC objects to PTI’s petition against Senate session

However, elections for eleven seats in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) were postponed by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) due to incomplete assembly composition.

Following this announcement, the election of both the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Senate will be conducted via secret ballot.

Once the Chairman of the Senate is elected and sworn in, attention will shift to the election of the Deputy Chairman.

Former Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani is nominated by the Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) for the chairman’s position. Meanwhile, PTI challenged the election process, declaring it unconstitutional and filing a petition in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to halt the impending election.

Read more: PTI boycotts Senate leadership elections, challenges in court

The IHC initially raised objections to PTI’s petition, citing jurisdictional authority of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) regarding Senate seats from KP. The PHC is already handling the case of reserved seats.

Despite the legal challenge and boycott by PTI, the Senate session is proceeding for swearing-in and leadership elections.