After all the hue and cry of horse-trading in the Senate elections now political parties are in the run to grab the slots of Chairman and its deputy.
The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) are strategising to solidify control of the Senate, with both looking to woo other political parties in order to get their favoured candidates into the two seats of power.
On the PML-N front, leaders are carrying out negotiations with other political parties to draw support for PML-N candidates. Former President and Co-chairman of PPP has invited party leaders of MQM, ANP, JUI-F, PML-Q, FATA and BNP(Awami) for meeting to discuss prospects and strategies for fielding consensus candidates for the offices of Chairman and Deputy Chairman Senate. Chief of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf Imran Khan has said that his party will not vote for either PML-N or PPP in the coming vote for Senate chairmanship as both the parties are corrupt.
One of the main purposes of the formation of Senate was to redress the grievances of the provinces with less participation in the National Assembly. But more focus should be to provide more power to the upper house of the Parliament for the welfare of the masses.
The main aim for the creation of the Senate of Pakistan was to give equal representation to all the federating units since the membership of the National Assembly was based on the population of each province. Equal provincial membership in the Senate, thus, balances the provincial inequality in the National Assembly.
Unless both the Houses pass a Bill and it receives President’s assent it cannot become a law. Through an amendment, the role of a Mediation Committee, composed of eight members of each House, has been introduced to evolve consensus on Bills, in case there is a disagreement between the two houses.
