Senate vote: Overconfidence killed the bat

How PPP bowled over PTI in Upper House elections

ISLAMABAD: Politics is ostensibly all about timing. After the election of the chairman and deputy chairman of the Senate on March 12, two major opposition parties – PPP and PTI – were competing for the role of lead opposition.

In the March 3 polls for 52 Senate seats, which were marred by allegations of horse-trading and use of money in all provinces, the PPP managed to grab more seats than expected. Still, it was left with just 20 members in the house, compared to its earlier strength of 27 senators.

The PTI, on the other hand, added six more to its existing six, making it the second-largest party on the opposition benches after the PPP.

Aiming high, the PPP initially tried to retain the coveted slot of chairman. But lacking numbers and on insistence from certain quarters, it settled for the deputy chairman slot.

To get its candidate elected, the PPP needed the support of other opposition groups, including the Imran Khan’s party.



Otherwise rivals, the two coalesced to elect Sadiq Sanjrani, an independent, as chairman. Together, they also elected PPP’s Saleem Manviwala as deputy chairman the same day.

The PTI supported the PPP candidate based on the insinuation that the latter party would scratch its back when the time came to elect a leader of the opposition.

Although PTI leaders claimed an understanding had been reached at the time of the elections of the chairman and deputy chairman, no written or recorded verbal commitment exists. The only proof is what the PTI inferred from the gestures of the PPP’s second and third-tier leadership.

On March 12, after the newly-elected senators had taken oath and the Senate chairman and deputy chairman had been elected, the PPP constituted a three-member team.

Sherry Rehman, newly-elected PPP senator Mustafa Khokar and former National Assembly deputy speaker Faisal Kundi were sent on a mission to “congratulate” newly-elected independents from FATA and Balochistan the same evening.

Along with greetings, they had a paper nominating Sherry as leader of the opposition. PPP’s Aitzaz Ahsan, who retired from the Senate on March 11 after completing his six-year term, had previously held the slot.

PPP’s trio succeeded in getting endorsements from over a dozen senators, besides its own 20 members the same evening. Interestingly, an MQM member had also signed Sherry’s nomination, but he later withdrew support.

The writing was already on the wall for the PTI, but no one read it. Khan’s party was hopeful of getting its first top-tier job title in the federal parliament. It decided to field Azam Swati for the leader of the opposition.

Swati started his campaign two days later by throwing a lavish dinner party for all the opposition members and independents. Without mentioning a motive for this dinner, Swati gave the impression that it was a goodwill gesture to keep the opposition united. PPP members also attended, but before Swati could start a formal campaign for his candidacy, the PPP had submitted Sherry’s nomination with 32 members supporting her application.



Under the rules, the Senate chairman has to announce a house member that commanded the support of most members on the opposition benches as leader of the opposition.

The PTI protested the move and accused the PPP of reneging on the alleged “commitment”. It then filed its bid by submitting Swati’s nomination on March 22, signed by 19 members – 12 of its own, two of the Jamaat-e-Islami, and five of the MQM. Later in the evening, the chairman announced his decision – an unsurprising one given the signature totals.

He notified PPP’s Sherry as the new leader of the opposition and she became the first woman to hold the role. Through this move, the PPP not only secured two important slots in the Senate – deputy chairman and leader of the opposition – but also added to the party’s list of firsts for women – the first and only female prime minister, National Assembly speaker, and leaders of the opposition in both house of parliament have all been from the PPP.

The callousness that led to the PTI’s defeat was not lost on its own elected members. “Are we running a charity? We feel like we gave them what they wanted and got nothing in return,” remarked a PTI senator.