ISLAMABAD: Since former Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani took oath as a National Assembly member the day before, speculation has been rife about the Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) nominee for Senate chairman, as interest in who will hold the coveted legislature post has grown, The News reported on Friday.
Gilani resigned from his Senate seat prior to the NA’s oathtaking ceremony on Thursday. The senior PPP lawmaker was a strong candidate for the top Senate position.
According to PPP insiders, only Asif Ali Zardari, the party’s Co-chairman, can answer the question of the next Senate chair nomination. However, if rumors are to be believed, conversations in Islamabad point to the nomination of a dark horse in the race.
When queried about the rumors, PPP insiders stated there had been an agreement with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) that the Senate chairman would be a PPP member. The party’s priority, according to sources, is the presidential race, and the Senate chairmanship will be chosen later.
In a simultaneous effort, Senator Taj Haider, the leader of the PPP’s central election cell, has addressed a letter to Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, requesting that the ECP schedule elections for the eleven vacant Senate seats as soon as feasible.
“We have to bring to your attention that 11 (eleven) seats in the Senate of Pakistan are currently empty; hence, the Senate is incomplete, and the shortage in numbers is very high, at almost 10%,” said the letter.
