Awais Qadir Shah of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has been elected as the Speaker of the Sindh Assembly.
Shah received 111 votes in his favour, overshadowing his competitor, Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan’s (MQM-P) Sofia Saeed, who received 36 votes.
The oath-taking ceremony, officiated by the preceding speaker, Agha Siraj Durrani, signified the commencement of Shah’s term, during which he was tasked with conducting elections for the deputy speaker position. Notably, the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) abstained from participating in the election.
The assembly session experienced a slight postponement, initiated by the swearing-in of its members. Before the speaker election, Durrani acquainted the assembly members with the voting procedure. Having assumed his new role, Shah is set to supervise the forthcoming deputy speaker election, with PPP’s Anthony Naveed and MQM-P’s Rashid Khan as the contenders, who have validated their nominations.
Shah extended his gratitude towards PPP leadership in his victory speech, including Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, and Faryal Talpur. He highlighted the significance of his election as the first speaker from Sukkur, calling for a unified start amongst lawmakers and pledging equal treatment to all. Shah emphasized adherence to the rule book to ensure optimal assembly functionality and to fulfil public expectations.
The assembly also witnessed the oath-taking of nine SIC members and Jamat-e-Islami’s (JI) Muhammad Farooq, addressing previous absences. Following the oaths, PPP’s chief ministerial candidate, Murad Ali Shah, lamented the loss of 12 PPP workers during the electoral campaigns, including the late victor Aziz Junejo, urging the assembly to honour their memory amidst ongoing national challenges with terrorism.
