Daily Times

PPP chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Saturday rejected rumours that PML-N senators did not vote for the opposition’s candidate in Thursday’s election for Senate chairperson and deputy chairperson.

When asked about reports of PML-N senators having abstained from voting for Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) nominees for the top Senate slots, Bilawal said, “Everyone showed loyalty.”

“I know, we all know, that we won [Senate seats] because of PDM’s unity,” he said, adding that the recent Upper House polls have “washed the stain of the past Senate elections”.

PDM, despite holding a majority in the Upper House, suffered a setback when its candidate Yousuf Raza Gilani lost to Sadiq Sanjrani by seven votes after it was announced that eight votes had been rejected. Seven of these votes were purportedly in Gilani’s favour but presiding officer Syed Muzaffar Hussain Shah said that they were rejected for being stamped incorrectly.

Gilani received 42 valid votes while Sanjrani won the election after getting 48 votes. The opposition also lost the deputy chairperson election, with PTI-backed Senator Mirza Mohammad Afridi securing 54 votes against opposition’s Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, who got 44 votes.

After the Senate chairman poll concluded, the opposition termed the exercise a “joke with democracy” and announced that it would challenge the results in court.

Separately, PPP leader Saeed Ghani said in a press conference that he, along with Farooq H. Naek and Ali Qasim Gilani, had asked the Senate secretary about the correct way of stamping the ballot papers.

“We asked him that often it happens [that] voter puts stamps on the name of the candidate — these were the exact words — so is that vote valid or invalid?” Ghani asked reporters.

“The secretary said that the vote [would be] completely valid because it is inside the box.”

The Sindh MPA said that during polling, a voter had come to PPP Senator Sherry Rehman with the same query and she too had confirmed from the secretary that the vote would be counted.

“When they did all this drama and [the presiding officer] was rejecting votes, Sherry Rehman again went to the secretary […] and said to him that you told me that these votes are correct in which the name has been stamped. The secretary then says very innocently that the presiding officer has overruled me.”

Also, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said that the presiding officer had read a script given to him during the polls for the Senate chairman and deputy.

Speaking to reporters, he said whatever happened during the election was an “organised” move, adding that he was disappointed to see it all happening.