Omar decries beginning of a fascist regime

Omar Ayub, the prime ministerial candidate of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), has described the upcoming PML-N-led government as a fascist regime, representing a continuation of the last Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government.

In his speech on the floor of the National Assembly after the election of PML-N’s Shehbaz Sharif as the 24th prime minister of the country on Sunday, Omar decried the ruling coalition for its alleged lack of ideology. “The only ideology of the upcoming government is financial corruption,” he said.

Omar, who received 92 votes against 201 votes cast for Shehbaz in the prime ministerial election, lamented that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) did not allocate reserved seats to the SIC.

He claimed this unconstitutional move made the entire process for the election of NA speaker, deputy speaker, and the prime minister illegal.

"We had raised the point under the Constitution that this house is out of order, but outgoing NA speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf overruled our objection."

The SIC’s candidate claimed that the incoming government was formed based on the ECP’s Form 47.

He said if election results were based on Form 45 then the SIC would have 180 lawmakers in the lower house.

ECP’s Form 45 is also known as the "Result of the Count" form. It is filled out at the polling station level after the counting of votes is completed.

Form 45 contains details such as the number of votes cast for each candidate and is signed by the presiding officer of the polling station. It serves as a record of the results at the polling station level.

Form 47, on the other hand, is compiled at the constituency level and contains the consolidated results from all polling stations within that constituency.

It provides an overview of the election results for a particular constituency and is an important document for the tabulation of results at higher levels of the electoral process.

Omar said: “The government lawmakers sitting here are beneficiaries of Form 47. However, the government that they are going to form is an ill-assorted group.”

The politician who originally belongs to the PTI lamented that when he was given the floor of the house after the speech of the newly elected prime minister, the cameras of the state-owned television channels stopped their live broadcast of the assembly session.

“My speech should also be live-broadcast,” he said.

The SIC candidate said the faces of the lawmakers belonging to the PML-N and its allies were faces of defeated people. “Their faces show that they have stolen the elections. When a thief flees after snatching something there is fear on his face,” he said.

Referring to the PTI’s protests against alleged rigging in the February 8 polls on Saturday, he said in the wake of the protest, 80 cases were registered only against the PTI workers in Lahore.

“And despite this highhandedness, they claim that they are democratic people.”

Read more: PML-N's Shehbaz Sharif elected prime minister for second time

He said the PTI was deprived of its election symbol and later it was also deprived of its success based on Form 45. “However, despite all challenges, the party remained steadfast and will continue to do so until former PM Imran Khan is released from jail and elected as the country’s prime minister,” he said.

The ECP deprived the PTI of its election symbol weeks before the February 8 elections. The PTI candidates later contested the elections as independents and collectively won more seats than the biggest political party, the PML-N.

The PTI backed independents later joined the little-known SIC and applied for the allocation of reserved seats. However, the ECP reserved its decision on its petition.

Talking with reference to the acts of vandalism that occurred across the country on May 9, 2023, after the arrest of Imran Khan, Omar said innocent people were also martyred on May 9 when authorities opened fire on peaceful protestors.

“Who is responsible for this? We demand a judicial inquiry into the events of May 9. Video footage should be presented to reveal the facts,” he said.

During Omar Ayub's speech, some members of the PML-N, including Atta Tarar, gathered around his desk and continued shouting slogans. They, however, returned to their seats at the request of former speaker Asad Qaiser.

Earlier, the NA session convened to elect the new prime minister commenced amid ruckus as PTI-backed SIC and PML-N lawmakers chanted slogans against each other.

The speaker commenced the proceedings to elect the PM amid noisy protests by PTI-backed lawmakers carrying posters of incarcerated party founder Imran Khan and chanting slogans against the PML-N.

Throughout the day, PTI-SIC members kept resorting to calling opponents "chor" (thief)—a reference to corruption allegations that have been following Sharifs and others over the years.

The PMLN-led alliance on the other hand kept repeating the slogan of "Ghari Chor" — watch thief — in a reference to the Toshakhana case in which Imran Khan was convicted for misusing the state’s gift repository by selling precious gifts including a watch gifted by Saudi royals in open market.

Soon after the speaker declared Shehbaz as the new prime minister of the country, PTI-SIC lawmakers encircled the newly-elected PM’s chair. The assembly was abuzz with slogans of 'sher' and 'chor'. Amid the sloganeering, PM Shehbaz began his maiden speech.

Shehbaz delivered the speech while standing beside his elder brother and three-time former PM Nawaz Sharif who was elected as an MNA but opted out of the race for the prime minister just days after the general elections.

Gohar’s reservations

Later, speaking to the media at Gate No 1 of the Parliament House, PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan expressed reservations about the proceedings of the National Assembly.

He said while Shehbaz Sharif was shown live on TV, Omar Ayub was not given coverage despite the fact that the NA deputy speaker did not censor any of Omar's words.

“If such incidents happen again, it will become very difficult to function here. Despite all injustices, we are present in the Parliament House, but if this trend continues, it will be difficult for the parliament's proceedings and cooperation,” he said.

Khan lamented that the PTI leaders and workers were in jails, “which should not have been the case under any circumstances.”

On the occasion, Omar Ayub stated that according to Shehbaz Sharif, the country's debt has soared to $80 trillion. “Our reserves and economy are in dire straits, and the country's economy has shrunk. No investor will come in this environment.”

He said the party is eager to bring improvement and change in the country. “We want the drama orchestrated under Form 47 to be exposed,” he added.