The inaugural session of the newly elected members of the Sindh Assembly elected Awais Qadir and Anthony Naveed as Speaker and Deputy Speaker, respectively on Sunday.
Both the leaders of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) defeated the leaders of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) during the elections of the coveted posts.
Qadir received 111 votes, defeating Sofia Saeed of MQM-P who only managed to get 36 votes.
The outgoing speaker, Agha Siraj Durrani, administered the oath to Speaker Qadir.
Meanwhile, Deputy Speaker Naveed secured 111 votes, defeating MQM-P’s Rashid Khan, who managed only 36 votes.
Following his election, Naveed was sworn in as the deputy speaker. Notably, members of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) boycotted the election, abstaining from casting votes.
The session faced a brief delay as members of the provincial assembly took their oaths.
Outgoing speaker Durrani briefed members about the polling process, and both candidates’ papers were declared valid.
Expressing gratitude, Speaker Qadir thanked PPP leaders Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Asif Ali Zardari, and Faryal Talpur for their support.
He emphasized the importance of starting anew, urging lawmakers to forget the past and work together. “If we follow the rule book, this house will function in the best way possible,” he added, expressing hope that the assembly would meet public expectations.
During the session, nine SIC members and one Jamat-e-Islami (JI) member took their oaths.
The previous day saw the swearing-in of 148 newly-elected Sindh Assembly members out of 168.
Allegations of rigging in the February 8 polls led to protests by the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA), Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), PTI, and Muhajir Qaumi Movement (MQM-Haqiqi). Tensions escalated, resulting in clashes between protesters and the police. Over 20 Qaumi Awami Tehreek workers were arrested, and at least 30 protesters were detained during the demonstrations.
In a parallel development, the Punjab Assembly elected Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidates Malik Ahmed Khan and Malik Zaheer Ahmed Channer as the speaker and deputy speaker, respectively, on Saturday.
