National Assembly votes for speaker, deputy speaker

ISLAMABAD: The 15th National Assembly resumed session today under the chairmanship of Sardar Ayaz Sadiq to elect its speaker and deputy speaker.

The elections for the positions are being held through secret ballot.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) – the majority party in the House – has nominated Asad Qaiser for the slot of speaker, while the joint opposition has fielded Syed Khursheed Shah for the post.

For deputy speaker, PTI has named Qasim Suri while the joint opposition has nominated Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal leader Asad Mahmood.

Imran Khan talking to Sardar Ayaz Sadiq (seated) as he cast his vote
Among those who cast the votes were PTI chairman and prime minister-in-waiting Imran Khan, and PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari who has been elected to the National Assembly for the first time.

Before the elections for speakership got under way, the five MNA-elects who were yet to take oath of their office were sworn in, taking the tally of elected MNAs to 329.

Mushtaq Ghani elected KP Assembly speaker
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly elected PTI nominee Mushtaq Ahmad Ghani as speaker. He secured the position with 81 votes.

Ghani’s rival, Awami National Party nominee Laiq Muhammad Khan, received 27 votes in contrast.

For the slot of deputy speaker, PTI has nominated Mehmood Jan while the joint opposition has fielded PML-N’s Jamshed Mohmand.

Sindh Assembly
The Sindh Assembly will also elect its speaker and deputy speaker today.

The Pakistan Peoples Party submitted nomination papers for Agha Siraj Durrani as the speaker and Rehana Leghari as the deputy. The joint opposition has fielded Javed Hanif of MQM-Pakistan for the post of speaker and PTI’s Rabia Azfar Nizami for deputy speakership.

According to Provincial Assembly Secretariat, elections for the two posts will be held through secret balloting by 165 elected members of the 168-member house.

The Balochistan Assembly will elect its speaker and deputy speaker on Thursday.