Sindh Assembly election, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has emerged victorious, securing both the speaker and deputy speaker positions. Awais Qadir Shah, nominated by the PPP, secured the speaker seat with 111 votes, while Anthony Naveed clinched the deputy speaker position with the same vote count.
During the voting session held on Sunday, Shah garnered 111 votes, surpassing Sofia Saeed of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement – Pakistan (MQM-P), who managed to gather only 36 votes. Similarly, Naveed secured 111 votes against MQM-P’s Advocate Rashid Khan, who also received 36 votes.
The session to elect the speaker and deputy speaker commenced under the chairmanship of outgoing speaker Agha Siraj Durrani. Shah and Naveed were the designated candidates of the PPP for the respective positions.
Upon commencement of the session, newly elected members of the Sindh Assembly offered prayers for the martyrs. However, the atmosphere heated up as MPs supported by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and now affiliated with the Sunni Ittehad Council raised slogans alleging electoral malpractice.
Nomination papers for the speaker and deputy speaker posts were submitted the previous day, with members of the PPP and MQM-P taking oath as provincial legislators. Notably, members backed by the PTI, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), and Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) boycotted the inaugural sitting of the 16th Sindh Assembly.
Meanwhile, an opposition coalition comprising parties such as the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), PTI, JI, Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Haqiqi (MQM-H), and GDA, alleging electoral irregularities in the February 8 polls, organized rallies in protest. Security measures, including the sealing of major roads and the enforcement of Section 144 in the Red Zone area housing the Sindh Assembly, were implemented to curb potential protests.
The PPP emerged as the dominant political force in Sindh after securing 88 seats in the fiercely contested February 8 elections, followed by MQM with 28 seats, independent candidates backed by PTI with 14 seats, and GDA and JI with two seats each, according to Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) results.
Syed Murad Ali Shah is poised to secure another term as Chief Minister of Sindh with substantial support. The election for the leader of the house is expected to take place subsequent to the appointment of the speaker and deputy speaker.
