National assembly set to elect its new leader

PoliticsNational assembly set to elect its new leader

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The Lower House of the Parliament is set to announce its new leader on Tuesday following the disqualification of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif by the Supreme Court in the historic Panama Papers Case.

The election of the prime minister will be held at 3:00 pm day in the session of the National Assembly at the Parliament House in Islamabad.

   

In the House of 342 lawmakers, a Candidate will have to secure minimum 172 votes to win the election.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Shahid Khaqan Abbasi is most likely to become the new Leader of the House as the ruling party and its allies enjoy comfortable majority in the National Assembly.

Besides Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, five other Candidates including Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) Syed Khursheed Shah and Syed Naveed Qamar; Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed, Jamaat-e-Islami’s (JI) Sahibzada Tariqullah and Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s (MQM) Kishwar Zahra were in the fray to contest the election.

Their nomination papers were scrutinized and found in order by the Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq.

However, MQM’s Kishwar Zahra withdrew her nomination papers today in favour of Shahid Khaqan Abbasi after a delegation of PML-N consisting of Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Khawaja Saad Rafique and Muhammad Zubair met the MQM leadership in Islamabad to secure the party’s support in favor of government’s nominee.

Talking to media flanked by PML-N leaders, the MQM Chief Farooq Sattar said that they had working relationships will political parties. He said that whosoever was elected as the prime minister, he would have to take into account the Sindh’s situation.

Similarly, the Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah also withdrew his nomination papers in favour of Syed Naveed Qamar whom the PPP finalized as its Candidate for premiership.

Currently, the ruling PML-N has 188 lawmakers in the 342-member House while its ally Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) has 14; Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F) has 5; Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) has 3; and Pakistan Muslim League-Zia (PML-Z) and National Party (NP) have 1 each.

Therefore, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi may taste the victory with 214 votes, and now even with much more votes after the support of MQM.

It is pertinent to mention here that two seats in the national assembly from NA-120 and NA-18 are lying vacant at the moment; therefore, maximum 340 lawmakers will cast their votes.

In a tweet, the PML-N senior leader and former Federal Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique has expressed hope to gain 235 votes in favour of Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.

In comparison to the members from treasury benches, the Opposition members in the Lower House include 47 from PPP; 33 from PTI; 24 from MQM, 4 from JI; 2 each from Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) and Awami National Party (ANP); and 1 each from All Pakistan Muslim League (APML), Awami Jamhoori Ittehad Pakistan (AJIP), Qaumi Watan Party (QWP), Awami Muslim League (AML) and Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M).

Mati
Mati
Mati-Ullah is the Online Editor For DND. He is the real man to handle the team around the Country and get news from them and provide to you instantly.

Must read

Recent News

Step taken to curb the menace of spurious drugs from the market

0
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The Policy Board of the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) held its 51st meeting in Islamabad. The Federal Secretary of the Ministry...

Pakistan, UK to strength bilateral trade

0
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The Federal Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal Khan and the British High Commissioner to Pakistan Jane Marriott have outlined key strategies to...

AUD to INR: Australian Dollar to Indian Rupee Today – 21 March 2024

0
The Australian Dollar (AUD) was trading at 55.09 as per the Indian Rupee (INR) on Thursday. Currently, Indians are now the second-largest migrant group in...

USD to PKR: USD Dollar Rate in Pakistan Today – 21 March 2024

0
The US Dollar (USD) was being bought and sold at Rs 278.8 and Rs 281.55 in the Open Market against the Pakistani Rupee (PKR)...

Gold Price in Pakistan Today – 21 March 2024

0
On Thursday (March 21, 2024), the gold rate for one tola of 24-karat in Karachi, Pakistan, is Rs 224,650.000. It's important to note that gold...
Advertisement