Islamabad (August 14, 2018): The deadline to submit nomination papers for slots of speaker and deputy speaker of the National Assembly ended Tuesday.
According to details, former speaker of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, Asad Qaiser, submitted his nomination papers for the slot of National Assembly speaker from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, while Pakistan Peoples Party’s Khursheed Shah submitted his details from the joint opposition.
On the other hand, nomination papers for the slot of deputy speaker were submitted by Qasim Suri from PTI and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl’s Asad Mehmood from the joint opposition.
The speaker and deputy speaker for National Assembly will be elected on August 15.
Earlier today, Pakistan Peoples Party Leader, Syed Khurshid Shah submitted his nomination papers for the election of Speaker at the National Assembly Secretariat.
Talking to the media, he said that he is confident of his victory in the election. He pointed out that he is member of the parliament for over three decades and he has good relations with the elected representatives.
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He said a functional parliament is important for a strong democracy.
The election of Speaker and Deputy Speaker will be held tomorrow.
PTI candidate Asad Qaiser has already submitted nomination papers for the slot of the Speaker at the assembly secretariat.
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PTI nominated Qasim Suri of Balochistan for the office of Deputy Speaker of the lower house.
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Earlier, Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) on Tuesday announced to fully support the PTI’s Candidate for the elections of the speaker, deputy speaker and the leader of the house.
GDA leaders Ghauz Bux Mehar and Fehmida Mirza announced their support following the talks with a PTI delegation led by its candidate for speaker Asad Qaiser in Islamabad.
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Later talking to the media persons, Fehmida Mirza appreciated the PTI for nominating candidates from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan for the slots of the speaker and the deputy speaker.
She said such steps will help address sense of deprivation of smaller provinces. She said we will collectively work for a strong federation.
In his remarks on the occasion, Asad Qaiser thanked the GDA leadership for their support.
Asad Qaiser said the people have given a mandate to the PTI and it will work towards resolution of their problems.
Meanwhile, PTI accused opposition of trying to lure some of its lawmakers away by making “lucrative offers” for their votes in the election for the posts of the speaker and deputy speaker of the National Assembly.
PTI leaders are worried mainly because of two reasons – the secret balloting and slim majority it holds over the combined opposition’s total strength.
PTI’s Vice-Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi warned that “it will be unfortunate if the voting pattern witnessed during the Senate election is repeated”.
Earlier, the first session of 15th National Assembly commenced on Monday as 329 members of the lower house of the parliament took oath after July 25 general elections.
Outgoing NA speaker Ayaz Sadiq presided over the historic session and administered oath to the MNAs-elect in the 342-member house.
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The session began with the MNAs-elect standing up for the national anthem and was followed by the recitation of the Holy Quran. The speaker then read out the procedure for the election of the new speaker and deputy speaker.
He then administered the oath to the MNAs-elect following which they signed the roll of members in alphabetical order. PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari was the first one to sign the roll register.
PM-in-waiting Imran Khan, PML-N president Shahbaz Sharif, PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, Shireen Mazari, Asad Umer, Pervez Khattak, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Marriyum Aurangzeb, Munazza Hassan, Shah Mehmood Qureshi among others attended the first session of the revamped House.
PTI chief Imran Khan warmly met various political members including Bilawal and posed for a photograph with him.
Strict security arrangements were made for the occasion as at least a thousand security men were deployed in and outside the parliament building.
The Constitution makes it mandatory to convene NA session within 21 days of general elections. After the oath-taking ceremony, the speaker prorogued the NA session until August 15, when the new speaker and deputy speaker of the assembly will be elected.
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