KARACHI: Less than twenty-four hours before the senate elections on seven general seats in Sindh, the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party got one more crucial vote on Wednesday when Asghar Ali Junejo took the oath as a member of the provincial assembly in place of Pakistan Muslim League-Functional’s Jam Madad Ali, who was unseated by an election tribunal a day earlier.

As soon as the Election Commission of Pakistan notified Mr Junejo as the successful candidate from PS-81 (Sanghar), he reached the house at 4.20pm and was promptly administered the oath by Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani.

Eight candidates are in the run for seven general seats of the senate from Sindh.

Five candidates belong to the PPP — Abdul Latif Ansari, Saleem Mandviwalla, Islamuddin Shaikh, Rehman Malik and Gyanchand. Two are from the MQM — Khushbakht Shujaat and Mian Ateeq Shaikh. And one is associated with the PML-F — Imamuddin Shauqeen.

With Mr Junejo’s oath-taking, the opposition PML-F lost one crucial vote for the Thursday senate election, as its total number of MPAs came down to 10 from 11.

The PPP and the MQM have already entered into a seat-adjustment agreement and their collective votes are now 143 — 92 of the PPP and 51 of the MQM.

While the MQM and the PPP can easily grab two and four senate seats, respectively, the ruling party is still short of three votes in the house to secure its fifth seat.

Although it is highly unlikely that four lawmakers of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf would come to the house to take part in polling, the PML-F, which has 10 votes, with the support of eight and two lawmakers of the PML-Nawaz and the National Peoples Party, respectively, still has a chance of winning one senate seat.

But amid reports of horse-trading, it is not easy to predict as to whether the PML-F can snatch that seat from the PPP.

Polling will be held from 9am to 4pm in Committee Room No 1 of the Sindh Assembly building.

Four senators — two each belonging to the PPP and the MQM — have already returned unopposed on seats reserved for women and technocrats.

The Hyderabad election tribunal unseated the PML-F’s Jam Madad Ali on Tuesday on an election petition of the PPP’s Junejo and 15 others.

As soon as Mr Junejo took the oath, Speaker Durrani, deputy speaker Syeda Shehla Raza, senior minister Nisar Ahmad Khuhro,, Dr Lal Chand, Kulsoom Chandio and the MQM’s Saleem Bandhani and Zubair Ahmad Khan congratulated him and termed his success a victory of the PPP in the senate.

Three resolutions adopted

Before the Wednesday sitting was adjourned till 9am on Thursday, the house unanimously adopted three resolutions.

In the resolution tabled by the PPP’s Abdul Sattar Rajpar, the house paid tribute to students in Sindh for launching the Anti-One Unit Movement and condemned the brutal police attack on a peaceful students’ procession on March 4, 1967.

The second resolution tabled by the PPP’s Sajid Jokhio recommended to the government to restrain the Malir Development Authority from allotting lands of local inhabitants to business enterprises and dislocating ancient villages/ graveyards.

Through a unanimously adopted joint resolution, which was read out by Irum Khalid of the PPP, about International Women’s Day celebrated on March 8, the Sindh women’s parliamentary caucus paid tribute to former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and all women of the world who challenged discriminatory practices against them, struggled and faced problems for their rights.

Also on Wednesday, a number of lawmakers greeted the Hindu community on the eve of Holi.

Published in Dawn, March 5th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play