Agreement on finalising the candidature for new chairman Senate would be a challenging task for the two major political parties -Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People's Party (PPP). The removal would be subject to the finalization of the decision to remove Sadiq Sanjrani through a vote of no-confidence. And that decision has yet to take on any finality, informed sources further revealed.
If one takes the numbers into account then Sanjrani's removal should not present any problem for a joint opposition however one cannot disclaim the possibility of the senior leadership of PML-N and PPP playing the senate chairman card to win some concessions for their ongoing legal difficulties, well informed sources told Business Recorder on condition of anonymity.
Background interviews with party leaders of both PPP and PML-N indicate that the two parties are vigorously pursuing electing their own loyalist as a replacement for Sanjrani. PML-N, which is the majority party with a total of 33 senators in the 104-member Upper House of the Parliament, is upbeat to get its party's chairman Senate elected this time around. While the PPP, with 20 senators, wants the opposition parties to agree on the candidature of one of its nominees for the chairman senate slot.
The PML-N senators include 16 lawmakers who were elected on PML-N ticket; another 16 who are part of PML-N contested Senate elections as independent candidates last year after the Supreme Court declared all decisions taken by Nawaz Sharif as PML-N President null and void after he was disqualified by the Supreme Court in the Panama papers case from holding any public or party office.
Out of these 33 senators, 32 can participate in voting process if a no-confidence motion is moved against Sanjrani, as one senator-elect Ishaq Dar has not taken oath since his election last year. Sources within PML-N said that the party is considering Sardar Yaqoob Khan Nasir, from Balochistan, for the Senate chairmanship slot though he was elected senator from Islamabad. Nasir is regarded as N-League's strong candidate and is a trusted confidante of former premier Nawaz Sharif.
Nasir was PML-N's president after Nawaz Sharif was disqualified by the Supreme Court. However, PML-N's other candidates for the top Senate slot are from Punjab and include Raja Zafar-ul-Haq, Pervaiz Rashid and Mushahid Hussain Sayed. PPP does not have any senator elected from Balochistan. However, the PPP is lobbying with the opposition parties for several of its candidates including Sherry Rehman, Saleem Mandviwalla, Rehman Malik and Moula Bux Chandio - all four elected from Sindh. Saleem Mandviwalla, deputy chairman senate is clearly in the lead.
Requesting anonymity, a PML-N leader said that his party deserved to have its chairman Senate during last year's Senate elections but PPP opposed this move. Resultantly, PPP and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) backed Sanjrani who secured 57 votes to defeat Chairman PML-N Raja Zafar-ul-Haq who received 47 votes.
The last three chairmen senate, including the incumbent Sanjrani, had the complete backing of PPP with two belonging to PPP. "This time it is our turn to get the chairmanship of Senate," a senior PML-N leader said adding that the party would reach out to other opposition parties for support on chairman Senate slot in the event that Sanjrani is removed.
Constitutionally, in case the opposition decides to bring a no-confidence motion against chairman Senate, it would require the support of at least one-fourth of total membership of Senate (26 out of 104) to have the motion passed. If the motion is passed, voting would be held to determine the will of the House - whether the senators want to retain the chairman or remove him from office. If majority vote (of the senators present at the time of voting) is cast in favour of the chairman, he retains his seat. If majority vote goes against him, he stands removed from the office.
Numerically, the opposition parties' strength is 65 seats (excluding two seats of Jamaat-e-Islami which did not participate in APC and have not supported the decision to de-seat Sanjrani) in the Senate. The strength of PTI and its allies stands at 38 seats in Senate. But given that voting on no confidence motion is held through secret ballot, the possibility of a senator changing his/her loyalty and vote against his party policy stands high.
"The PTI-led treasury benches may not be in majority in the Senate but they are in government and the government has the potential of drawing maximum leverage from secret ballot-horse trading cannot be stopped in secret ballot because it cannot be determined who voted for whom," said an opposition senator, requesting anonymity.
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