Sardar Ayaz Sadiq elected National Assembly speaker amid SIC protest

ISLAMABAD – Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Sardar Ayaz Sadiq was elected as speaker by the National Assembly on Friday amid a protest by the Sunni Ittehad Council.

Outgoing speaker Raja Parvez Ashraf presided over the session of the lower house of the parliament where new speaker was elected through secret balloting.

Out of total 291 votes, Sadiq secured 199 votes while SIC candidate Amir Dogar bagged only 91 votes. Ashraf will  now administer oath to the newly-elected speaker of the National Assembly.

The new speaker will conduct the election of the deputy speaker immediately after assuming charge.

Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) Syed Ghulam Mustafa is vying for the deputy speaker slot while SIC has nominated Junaid Akbar.

As the session began, SIC member and PTI chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said the election could not be conducted until the house is complete, urging the speaker to issue a ruling on a matter related to reserved seats.

A day earlier, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman issued serious concerns over the general elections 2024. He announced that his party would not take party in elections for the president, prime minister, and the National Assembly speaker.