Malik Ahmed Khan secured 224 votes while his rival SIC leader Malik Ahmed Bhachar could get 96 votes for the office of speaker at Punjab Assembly.
LAHORE: (UrduPoint/Pakistan Point News-Feb 24th, 2024) Malik Ahmed Khan, a prominent member of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), clinched victory as the Speaker of the Punjab Assembly during Saturday's session.
In the secret balloting process, Malik Ahmed Khan secured 224 votes, outstripping his rival Malik Ahmed Khan Bhachar, who was nominated by the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC).
Bhachar managed to gather 96 votes, while two votes were deemed invalid during the counting.
A total of 327 members exercised their voting rights in the speaker election. Nonetheless, no decision was reached regarding the 27 reserved seats of the provincial assembly, and 16 members abstained from voting.
The election for the speaker and deputy speaker positions adhered to Rules 9 and 10 of the Rules of Procedure of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab, 1997. PML-N's Malik Ahmad Khan and Malik Zaheer Iqbal Channer submitted their nomination papers for the respective roles.
On the other hand, the Sunni Ittehad Council nominated Ahmad Khan Bhachar and Muhammad Moeenuddin Riaz for the speaker and deputy speaker positions, respectively.
After the announcement of the election outcome, outgoing Punjab Assembly Speaker Sibtain Khan administered the oath to Malik Ahmed Khan. PML-N's nominee for the Punjab Chief Minister position, Maryam Nawaz, extended congratulations to Malik Ahmed Khan on his triumph.
The provincial assembly session commenced with a delay of one hour and thirty-three minutes. Upon Maryam Nawaz's entrance into the hall, members of the Sunni Ittehad Council voiced slogans against the PML-N leadership.
In response, PML-N leaders reciprocated with slogans against the PTI leadership, triggering verbal confrontations among assembly members.
