ISLAMABAD, March 12, 2018: The Senate elected its Chairman and Deputy Chairman as 52 senators took oath during the first sitting of the 275th session on Monday, says Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN).
The sitting started 13 minutes behind the schedule with 83 members present at the start and 37 at the time of adjournment. In all, 51 newly elected Senators and one elected in the by-election on a vacant seat of Punjab took the oath and signed the rolls.
Balochistan Senator Sadiq Sanjrani was sworn in as Senate Chairman after he secured 57 votes out of the total 103 cast for the seat. PPPP Senator Saleem Mandviwalla was elected as Deputy Chairman Senate who secured 54 out of 98 votes cast for the seat.
Following are some key observations of the parliamentary business:
Members’ Participation in House Proceedings
- The Senate met for 10 hours and two minutes. The sitting remained suspended for five hours and 14 minutes to receive nomination papers for the slots of Chairman and Deputy Chairman after oath taking by newly elected Senators.
- The sitting started at 1013 hours against the scheduled time of 1000 hours.
- Eighty-three (82%) members were present at the start and 37 (36%) at the end of the sitting.
- The Senate Chairman was elected with 57 votes against 46 votes secured by the runner-candidate while the Deputy Chairman was elected with 54 votes against 44 votes.
- A PML-N Senator acted as the Presiding Officer for the Chairman’s election.
- No vote was rejected.
Representation and Responsiveness
- Eight lawmakers participated in the debate for 27 minutes to welcome the newly-elected Chairman and Deputy Chairman.
Transparency
- ‘Orders of the Day’ was available to the legislators, observers and public.
- The attendance of lawmakers is available on the website.
This daily factsheet is based on direct observation of the Senate proceeding conducted by Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN). Errors and omissions are excepted