KARACHI: The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) emerged victorious on Sunday in the Sindh Assembly elections for the speaker and deputy speaker positions, with Awais Qadir and Anthony Naveed securing the majority of votes.
Qadir Shah secured 111 votes to win the speaker's position, defeating his opponent Sofia Saeed from the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), who received only 36 votes. Following his election, Shah was sworn in by outgoing speaker Agha Siraj Durrani.
Similarly, Anthony Naveed secured 111 votes to become the deputy speaker, surpassing MQM-P's Rashid Khan, who managed only 36 votes. Naveed was then administered the oath by Qadir Shah.
During the session, members of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) abstained from voting, boycotting the election process.
Before the voting commenced, outgoing speaker Durrani briefed the members on the polling procedures.
Expressing gratitude for his win, Shah thanked PPP leaders Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Asif Ali Zardari, and Faryal Talpur for their support. He emphasized the importance of unity among lawmakers and pledged to ensure fair treatment for all members.
The session saw the swearing-in of nine SIC members and one Jamat-e-Islami member, who had missed the previous oath-taking ceremony.
Additionally, PPP's chief minister nominee Murad Ali Shah highlighted the sacrifices made by party workers during the election campaigns and called for prayers for those who had lost their lives.
The oath-taking ceremony took place amid demonstrations by opposition parties protesting alleged election rigging. The protests turned tense as clashes erupted between party workers and law enforcement officials, resulting in several arrests and detentions.
Meanwhile, in the Punjab Assembly, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidates Malik Ahmed Khan and Malik Zaheer Ahmed Channer were elected as speaker and deputy speaker, respectively.
