The Punjab Assembly’s inaugural session began on Friday afternoon after a two-hour and 20-minute delay, with all new members taking oath.
Right after the oath, Punjab Assembly Speaker Sibtain Khan directed the assembly secretary to declare a four-member panel of chairpersons consisting of Malik Muhammad Ahmed Khan, Raheela Naeem, Sayed Ali Haider Gilani, and Saima Kanwal.
The Punjab Assembly secretary declared that the speaker and deputy speaker elections will be place on February 24 using secret ballots. He said candidates for speaker and deputy speaker could submit their nomination papers by 5 p.m. on Friday. The secretary stated that for one contender, there will be no polling. “Two polling booths will be set up for the polling process of the speaker and deputy speaker.
Sibtain Khan, the departing speaker of the Punjab Assembly, informed the Punjab Assembly secretary that he will furnish him with the timing of the speaker and deputy speaker elections.
The treasury benches were occupied by around 215 members of the PML-N and its allies, as well as 97 Sunni Ittehad Council members, including PTI-backed independent candidates. Both sides raised slogans criticizing each other’s leadership.
Maryam Nawaz Sharif, the PML-N Senior Vice President and Chief Organizer and a candidate for Punjab Chief Minister, also attended the Punjab Assembly and sat on the treasury benches. She is also expected to take the oath as Punjab’s first woman chief minister.
The PML-N-led Treasury benches raised slogans in favour of Maryam Nawaz and Nawaz Sharif.
