Former Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has been nominated for the post of Chairman Senate
Islamabad … News Time
After the Senate election battle, the political arena between the opposition and the government will be set on March 12, where the government and opposition parties will once again be seen trying to complete the number game for the election of the chairman of the Senate. Prime Minister Imran Khan has started a series of political contacts to win a vote of confidence in the National Assembly, while the government and opposition parties have also geared up for the election of the chairman of the Senate. The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has once again nominated Sadiq Sanjarani as its candidate for the chairmanship of the Senate, while PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has nominated former Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani as its candidate for the chairmanship of the Senate. No final announcement was made by the MQM leadership.
What is the number game for Chairman Senate?
The upper house, the Senate, has 100 members. The winning candidate for the chairmanship of the Senate must receive a golden number of 51 votes. According to unofficial results of the Senate elections, the PTI has become the largest party in the upper house with 25 members. The ruling coalition Balochistan Awami Party has 12 members after winning six more seats in the Senate elections, while the Muttahida Qaumi Movement has three; the JDA and the Pakistan Muslim League-Q have one senator. Out of 6 independent candidates in the Senate, the ruling coalition has the support of 4, bringing the number of governing coalitions to 46 with the support of independent candidates.
On the other hand, the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) has 21 senators from the Pakistan People’s Party, 18 from the PML-N and five from the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam. The PDM has two senators from the Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PKMAP), two from the National Party and one from the Awami National Party (ANP), and one from the Balochistan National Party (BNP Mengal). Thus, the opposition coalition PDM has a total of 51 senators, which means that if all the senators from the parties in the PDM also voted for the opposition candidate, then two independents and one senator from Jamaat-e-Islami would vote. In addition, the PDM will succeed in electing the chairman of the Senate. If the ruling coalition succeeds in gaining the support of 5 senators, the government can upset the opposition in the election of the chairman of the senate.
