Islamabad - The neck and neck election on Senate’s two top slots on Friday apparently culminated in a bad taste. Bad in taste because 11-parties opposition alliance Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) has rejected the election and decided to challenge the seven votes rejected by the Presiding Officer. PDM’s consensus candidate for Senate’s top slot Senator Yousaf Raza Gilani claimed the Presiding Officer unlawfully rejected seven out of eight votes. The candidates of PTI-led ruling alliance Sadiq Sanjrani and Mirza Muhammad Afridi have been elected as Chairman and Deputy Chairman Senate respectively.
As per results of the election, Sadiq Sanjrani secured 48 votes out of the total 98 polled votes whilst his rival and candidate of opposition parties Yousaf Raza Gilani got 42 votes. Eight votes were rejected.
Also, Mirza Muhammad Afridi candidate of ruling for for the office of Deputy Chairman Senate secured 54 votes whilst the candidate of opposition parties Abdul Ghafoor Haideri bagged 44 votes.
Politically, the PDM leadership got upset after a Presidential Reference was sent to the Supreme Court for its opinion about holding election on 48 vacant seats of the Upper House through open ballot earlier this month. Parallel to this, government also engaged opposition for bringing about consensus legislation to hold Senate election through open ballot but the move was rejected by the opposition.
In the meantime, the Supreme Court also gave its ruling on Presidential Reference upholding the Constitution that elections can be held only through secret ballot, and for any change the government needs to amend the Constitution.
While the ruling alliance was expecting major gains, the election between Gillani and Sheikh turned the entire Senate election the most hottest and high-staked.
The March 12 election on two top slots of the Senate has taken a new turn with a new controversy. How, it is going to affect the future politics in the country would largely depend on the how government handles the opposition.
Prime Minister Imran Khan has been very vocal not to grant NRO to opposition on their alleged corruption and looting of the national wealth while they were in power.
If the same trend continues, there is greater likely hood that political polarisation in the country would get more intense and toxic rather than evolving a national consensus on important issues. Now with victory in the Senate elections, ruling alliance has gained the ground to introduce reforms which it could not do so far because of the numerical minority in the Upper House.
Consequently, Prime Minister Imran Khan would to like push his pending reforms agenda now more vigorously after gaining more political freedom in the parliament.
With major gain in the Senate, Prime Minister Imran Khan got his hands untied, and is more stable to do legislation freely irrespective of opposition’s threats or magnitude of its planned long march later this month.