At the helm
It is good to see Senate being led by a person of competence backed by all political groups
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar (L) administrating the oath of the office of Senate Chairman to Senator Raza Rabbani. PHOTO: PID
With Senator Raza Rabbani’s uncontested election as Senate chairman on March 12, a PPP man takes control of the 104-seat Upper House of parliament for the third consecutive term. Senator Rabbani’s election was certain following the formation of a strong opposition alliance to back him, days after the voting for 48 out of 52 vacant Senate seats took place. The four seats from Fata still need to be filled. With the ruling PML-N also opting to support Senator Rabbani, no other nomination papers were filed. While the PML-N may have liked to control both parliamentary chambers, the election of an opposition man can be positive in a democratic system where we need discussion and debate in order to evolve a solid working order and develop the consensus needed for this.
While he will face numerous challenges, Senator Rabbani, respected as a constitutional expert and a man who has stayed loyal to the PPP — a party which he joined in 1968 — for over four and a half decades, is a man well-suited to the task. He has tackled issues of federation before, as minister for inter-provincial affairs and in playing an important role in drafting the landmark Eighteenth Amendment Bill of 2010. As he stressed in his brief speech after taking charge as Senate chairman, he will be working for parliamentary sovereignty and strengthening democracy.
While Senator Rabbani’s election was unanimous, there was more dissent over the election for the deputy chairman slot. Maulana Ghafoor Haideri of the JUI-F, elected to the post, is seen as a hardline cleric. How things pan out at the Senate is something that will be closely watched over the coming three years. The fact that most major parties united behind Senator Rabbani is a positive step, and we hope the same spirit of cooperation will be seen over the months ahead. It is what we need in order to strengthen our democratic system and allow all its components to play a part in this. The Senate is, of course, among the most significant of these components. It is good to see it led by a person of competence backed by all political groups.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 14th, 2015.
While he will face numerous challenges, Senator Rabbani, respected as a constitutional expert and a man who has stayed loyal to the PPP — a party which he joined in 1968 — for over four and a half decades, is a man well-suited to the task. He has tackled issues of federation before, as minister for inter-provincial affairs and in playing an important role in drafting the landmark Eighteenth Amendment Bill of 2010. As he stressed in his brief speech after taking charge as Senate chairman, he will be working for parliamentary sovereignty and strengthening democracy.
While Senator Rabbani’s election was unanimous, there was more dissent over the election for the deputy chairman slot. Maulana Ghafoor Haideri of the JUI-F, elected to the post, is seen as a hardline cleric. How things pan out at the Senate is something that will be closely watched over the coming three years. The fact that most major parties united behind Senator Rabbani is a positive step, and we hope the same spirit of cooperation will be seen over the months ahead. It is what we need in order to strengthen our democratic system and allow all its components to play a part in this. The Senate is, of course, among the most significant of these components. It is good to see it led by a person of competence backed by all political groups.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 14th, 2015.