Elahi suggests unopposed Senate elections

Ruling coalition poised to win six of 11 seats from Punjab against opposition’s five

LAHORE:

Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi has proposed that the leaders of the parliamentary groups agree on unopposed elections for 11 Senate seats from the province in proportion to the number of each party’s lawmakers to avoid horse-trading and pressure from the members in the coming elections.

According to sources, the speaker floated the proposal before the parliamentary leaders of PML-N, PTI and PPP in his chamber during the recent assembly session.

The provincial parliamentary leaders of both the opposition parties have reportedly informed their leadership about the proposal.

The PML-N has confirmed the speaker’s proposal, but has not yet given a clear reply to the speaker in this regard.

PML-N chief whip Khalil Tahir Sindhu told The Express Tribune that the speaker had proposed holding the Senate elections in Punjab by consensus, but the decision on the issue would be taken by the party leadership. According to sources, the PML-N leadership has not yet responded to the suggestion.

However, PPP parliamentary leader in Punjab Assembly Syed Hassan Murtaza said that the speaker had contacted the PML-N leaders regarding the issue. “There was no discussion with me regarding uncontested election of the Senate in Punjab.” The PPP has not yet decided whether to field a party candidate in the Senate elections.

PML-Q leader and Senate candidate Kamil Ali Agha said he was not aware of the proposal and it would be a good move but appeared unlikely to be implemented in the current situation. PML-Q leader Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain had set such an example in the past, he added.

Elections will be held for 11 Senate seats from Punjab. They include seven general seats and two each reserved for technocrats and women. A candidate will require the votes of 48 provincial assembly members to win a general seat in the Senate.

In accordance with the ratio of their representation in the assembly, the ruling coalition of PTI and PML-Q will get four general seats along with one technocrat and a woman on reserved seats. The opposition is poised to win three general, a technocrats’ and a women’s seat.

Recent reports indicate that 15 members of a likeminded group led by PTI member Ghazanfar Abbas Cheena from Bhakkar had also demanded a Senate seat. But now the members of the group are quietly watching the situation and are also trying to appease Khawaja Dawood Soleimani, an estranged legislator from Taunsa.

Political observers say that if the PPP fields a Senate candidate from Punjab, the situation could become interesting and the demands of treasury members could increase.

Khurram Leghari, a PTI MPA from Muzaffargarh, is also angry with the government and is very active these days, claiming that his group has five members.

On the other hand, the PML-N has reportedly suggested to the speaker that if Opposition Leader Hamza Shehbaz is made the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee-I as per the tradition, he will resign from the post like his father Shehbaz Sharif did in the National Assembly and nominate another party member to replace him.

According to sources, the speaker has assured the PML-N parliamentary leaders that he would take up the matter with the PTI leadership.

Prime Minister Imran Khan in a recent meeting with a PML-Q delegation led by Pervaiz Elahi accepted an invitation to inaugurate the new building of Punjab Assembly. The event is expected in the last week of February. Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi has good relations with the members of PTI, PML-N as well as PPP, due to which he has emerged as a powerful speaker. The last assembly session was adjourned after nine days. Now a session will be held for the Senate elections.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, February 8^th, 2021.