ISLAMABAD: Senate the Upper House the Parliament, is all set to elect new Chairman on March 12, after recently held polls of retiring Senators were held all over Pakistan.
The two contenders the government alliance’s nominee, Sadiq Sanjrani, the incumbent chairman vying for a second term, and Yousaf Raza Gillani, the former prime minister who has been pitched by the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), an 11-party anti-Government opposition alliance.
People have their eyes on the highly staked elections, especially after the Opposition, in a shock move, managed to secure enough votes in last week’s Senate polls to elect Gillani to a general seat from the lower house, which is dominated by the government alliance.
The opposition alliance has a razor thin majority in the upper house and political analysts are minutely watching the political situation in Islamabad.
The Article 60 of the Constitution of Pakistan states that the chairman and deputy chairman of the Senate will be elected from within the elected members of the Senate for a three-year term.
The election is held through a secret ballot and the candidate who secures the most number of votes is elected, according to the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Senate, 2021.
If two candidates get an equal number of votes, the rules say a fresh ballot has to be held until one secures more votes than the other.
This last scenario, although it may seem unlikely, seems a tantalising possibility this time around due to how the Senate is split. More on this later.
If Sanjrani can corral enough votes, he will be elected head of the House for a second consecutive term. However, the opposition holds a slim majority in the Senate. Does that mean Gillani has a better shot?
There will be a total of 100 senators in the Upper House on March 12 after the swearing-in ceremony.
This year, the government and its allies, which include the MQM-Pakistan, the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) and the PML-Q, won a combined 27 seats in the Senate. The coalition also has the support of 19 senators who will be staying on till 2024.
That brings the total number of senators behind the PTI and its allies to 46.
Last week, the PML-N, PPP, JUI-F and BNP-M won a combined 17 seats. They also have the support of 32 senators continuing in the house till 2024.
However, from that total of 49, the PML-N’s Ishaq Dar, who was elected senator in 2018, has yet to take oath and is unlikely to be able to vote for the Senate chairman.
That means the opposition in reality has only 48 senators, and the Senate itself will have 99 members able to vote.
Bear in mind that the the government and opposition’s numbers combined (46+48 = 94) still leave 5 senators to be accounted for.
These are the senators who will be key to determining the final result.
Read more: Ali Haider Gillani video: ECP instructs PTI to also nominate own members in petition
