Pakistani lawmakers elect Asad Qaiser as new parliamentary speaker

0 Comment(s)Print E-mail Xinhua, August 15, 2018
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ISLAMABAD, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- Asad Qaiser of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf or PTI was elected speaker of the National Assembly or the lower house of the country's parliament on Wednesday, according to an official announcement made by Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, the outgoing speaker.

Qaiser, who received 176 votes of the total 330 votes polled in the 342-member house, defeated Khursheed Shah, a joint candidate of an alliance of the opposition parties, who bagged 146 votes. A total of eight votes were rejected.

"Asad Qaiser has been declared as the National Assembly's speaker of Pakistan," the outgoing speaker announced.

The election took place through secret ballot.

Qaiser replaced Sadiq of the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), who presided over the National Assembly's session for the voting of the speaker. He administered the oath to the new speaker.

The newly elected speaker will preside over the assembly's session to elect the deputy speaker. The contest is between Qasim Suri of the PTI and the opposition's candidate Asad Mehmood.

Qaiser, who belongs to the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, will be the 21st speaker of Pakistan's National Assembly. He had served as the speaker of the provincial assembly of KP for five years from June 2013 to May 2018.

The opposition members chanted slogans against the alleged rigging that helped PTI win the general election on July 25.

Earlier, Mushtaq Ahmad Ghani of PTI was elected as the speaker and Mehmood Jan as the deputy speaker of KP's provincial assembly.

In southern Sindh province, Agha Siraj Durrani of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) was elected as the speaker of the Sindh assembly for the second consecutive term defeating the opposition candidate Javed Hanif. PPP emerged as the largest party in Sindh and will form a government in the province.

The National Assembly will also elect the country's next prime minister on Friday. The PTI's chairman Imran Khan is in a strong position as his party is the single largest party at the house. Enditem

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