QUETTA, Oct 5: Thirty-six members of the Balochistan Assembly will take part in the presidential election on Saturday.

Speaker Jamal Shah Kakar has convened a special session of the assembly on Saturday. The Election Commission has designated Chief Justice of the Balochistan High Court Mr Justice Amanullah Khan Yasinzai as Presiding Officer for the election.

Polling would be held between 10am and 3pm without interruption.

After resignation by 23 members of the All Parties Democratic Movement, 38 lawmakers remain in the field but Mir Balach Khan Marri is not in Pakistan and Speaker Jam Shah will cast his vote.

The ruling coalition in Balochistan led by the Pakistan Muslim League has 34 members in the house, including the two members of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal who backed out of their commitment to resign from the assembly. The MMA lwmakers had submitted their resignation to the speaker who issued a notification after accepting their resignation.

However, MMA members Agha Faisal Daud and Ms Amna Khanum said they had not resigned and later, a division bench of the Balochistan High Court suspended a Balochistan Assembly notification regarding acceptance of their resignation and allowed them to cast their vote.

There are 25 members belonging to the ruling PML, but Mir Bakthair Khan Domki, grandson of Nawab Akbar Bugti, has refused to cast his vote on the orders of the party’s high command. He was removed from the Balochistan cabinet because he did not cast his vote in favour of the party’s candidate in March 2007. He says he is no longer a party member.

Chief Minister Jam Yousuf and other party leaders have been trying to persuade Mir Domki to reconsider his decision.