Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjarani announced on Friday that he would contest elections for the post of the president for the International Parliamentary Union (IPU) which is a global organisation of national parliaments.
Sanjrani was nominated by National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser.
A spokesperson for the Senate said that 179 countries are members of the union whereas elections for IPU president would be held in December.
“For the first time in the history of the country, Sanjarani will be contesting the IPU presidential elections,” the spokesperson stated.
The spokesman quoted parliamentarians saying that “Sanjarani’s IPU presidential election will further enhance the prestige of parliament”.
Last year, the Senate chairman had surprisingly survived the opposition’s no-confidence vote by three votes.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) had submitted a joint resolution in the Senate against Sanjrani, saying he was supporting the government and had lost the confidence of the House.
The opposition had 64 members in the Senate and it needed 53 votes for the motion to pass in the 104-member House, but when the votes were counted, the opposition managed to get only 50 votes.
The opposition had alleged that it was the government’s “invisible hands” in defeating the opposition motion.
The IPU believes in empowering parliaments and parliamentarians to promote peace, democracy and sustainable development around the world.
It helps to strengthenRiz parliaments to make them more effective and representative. It also works to increase women’s representation in parliament and empower women MPs, defend the human rights of parliamentarians and help them uphold the rights of all.
In addition, it helps parliaments fight terrorism, cyber warfare and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, create the global space for parliamentary diplomacy, dialogue and networking and encourage youth participation in parliaments and empower young MPs.
It supports parliaments in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with a particular focus on health and climate change.
For global governance, IPU brings a parliamentary dimension to United Nations processes to ensure international commitments become national realities.
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