The upper house of parliament was the latest staging ground for a political ruckus the other day when it was announced that Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri of the JUI-F would be made the new leader of the opposition in the Senate. The cause of the commotion? A dissatisfied alliance of the opposition consisting of the PML-N, JI, ANP and splinter factions of the PML-Q among others rejected the appointment amidst chants of “fake appointment” and “rigging”. While politicians in Pakistan seem prone to creating a scene almost anywhere they go, the Senate usually is reserved for more civil behaviour. Then why the outburst? Senate Chairman Farooq H Naek made the declaration on Monday but, in a rather odd fashion, he did not read out the decision but ‘spoke’ it. This was then claimed as a fake declaration by the opposition parties who had previously voiced their desire to see PML-N member Ishaq Dar as the leader of the opposition in the Senate. The opposition parties have lodged a strong protest against the appointment and are now considering the option of moving a court on this issue. The dissenters say that Haideri does not deserve to be the leader of the opposition because he does not represent them. Farooq Naek has said that Haideri’s appointment is valid because the numbers were on his side. Which numbers is he talking about when the opposition claims he is not their choice? After much manoeuvring, Haideri received a total of 18 votes — 11 from his own party, the JUI-F, five from independent senators from FATA (allegedly bought over to the opposition benches) and two from independent candidates. Ishaq Dar, on the other hand, has the support of 25 members, according to this grouping’s application of May 14 to the Senate chairman. This number does controversially include two splinter groups of the PML-Q, whom Haideri thinks should not be considered part of the opposition. The slot of leader of the opposition fell vacant since Waseem Sajjad quit as leader of the opposition because his party, the PML-Q, had joined the government coalition. However, it was being anticipated that Dar would bag the position. For Haideri to swoop in and claim the win was a surprise for everyone, and has given rise to speculations of ‘pressure’ being applied on the Senate chairman. In the Senate, no election for the leader of the opposition takes place per se. The chairman of the Senate only makes the call notifying a member of the opposition who has been picked as the leader of the opposition. It is the chairman’s duty to ensure that a person who enjoys the support of a majority of the opposition members is picked. It is this support for the candidate that the opposition hands over to the chairman in writing to notify the house. It is this bit of the written will of the opposition that was conspicuous by its absence in the hands of Farooq Naek when he made his decision. It is clear that Abdul Ghafoor Haideri does not enjoy the confidence of the opposition he is slated to be representing. This is a very unsettling sign as Senate proceedings will no doubt suffer as a result. The opposition has sworn that it will interrupt and jeer at Haideri whenever he tries to speak in the capacity of the leader of the opposition. This is unbecoming and will depreciate the standing and dignity of the Senate. Unfortunately, the whole episode reeks of an arbitrary decision. With the majority of the opposition claiming that Haideri has no right to represent them, the decision must be revisited and, after ascertaining the will of the opposition benches in an open and transparent manner, be reversed in favour of the member enjoying the confidence of the majority of the opposition. In conformity with democratic parliamentary norms, the will of the majority of the opposition must dominate.*