ISLAMABAD: The Senate meets Monday to elect its Chairman and Deputy Chairman. According to the agenda issued by Senate Secretariat, the session will resume at 10 a.m.
The newly elected Senators will take oath after which the session will be adjourned. After the adjournment of Session, nomination papers for the Chairman and Deputy Chairman will be submitted.
The session will resume at 4:00 pm same day to elect the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Upper House. Names of the candidates will be announced during the meeting and later a secret ballot will be held. The names of winning candidates for the slots of Chairman and Deputy Chairman will be announced after which they will also take oath.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on Sunday announced its support for Sadiq Sanjrani, an independent Senator-elect from Balochistan, for the slot of Senate chairman.
Speaking to media here, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto said that it would field Saleem Mandviwalla for the deputy chairman seat in the election scheduled to take place on Monday.
Earlier, the PPP and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had given Balochistan Chief Minister Abdul Quddus Bizenjo the authority to bring forth a joint candidate for the slots with the help of newly-elected independent senators from Balochistan.
The PTI also threw its weight behind Sanjrani. Balochistan Chief Minister Abdul Quddus Bizenjo held a meeting with PTI Chairman Imran Khan at his Banigala residence earlier Sunday along with independent senators from the province.
Following the meeting, the PTI spokesperson informed the media that the party would support Sanjrani for Senate Chairman. Sanjrani is also said to have the support of independent senators elected from Balochistan and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).
A simple majority of 53 votes is required to elect senate chairman and deputy chairman. Following the elections, the PML-N and independents backed by the party have 33 seats in senate – followed by the PPP with 20.
After the recent Senate elections, independents (other than those who were backed by PML-N) make up the third largest grouping with 17 seats. The PTI has 12 seats. INP/Agencies