[🇵🇰] Pakistan General Elections -- 2024

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Sharif camp optimistic after Nawaz woos Fazl for support​

Kalbe Ali
March 2, 2024

PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif and JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman share a light moment during a meeting at the latter’s residence in Islamabad on Friday.—White Star
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaMc238IiRov8okfYy3n
ISLAMABAD: PML-N supreme leader Nawaz Sharif visited the residence of JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman here on Friday, possibly to seek the latter’s support in the formation of the upcoming coalition government at the Centre, as the JUI-F had abstained during the voting for speaker and deputy speaker of the National Assembly.

 

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Bilawal outlines PPP's conciliatory vision for Balochistan​

Mar 02, 18:19
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari addressed the media in Quetta on Saturday, outlining the party's commitment to resolving the multifaceted challenges faced by Balochistan.

Bilawal, along with the newly-elected Chief Minister of Balochistan, Sarfraz Bugti, and other PPP members, emphasised the importance of a collaborative and conciliatory approach to governance.

He highlighted that the PPP would work with all stakeholders, both inside and outside the provincial assembly, to address the problems confronting Balochistan. He expressed his intention to govern in accordance with the conciliatory thinking of his late mother, Benazir Bhutto, who advocated for inclusive and cooperative governance.

 

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Shehbaz, Ayub submit nomination papers for PM election​

Election for the PM would be conducted through the division of members in the house

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Rizwan Shehzad
March 02, 2024

ISLAMABAD: The coalition candidate for the office of prime minister, PML-N's Shehbaz Sharif, and the PTI nominee for the post, Omar Ayub, submitted their nomination papers on Saturday.

Leaders of coalition parties including Khawaja Asif, Khurshid Shah, Attaullah Tarar and Tariq Bashir Cheema were present to submit Shehbaz's papers.

For PTI, party leaders Asad Qaiser, Aamir Dogar, Ali Muhammad, and Barrister Gohar Khan were in attendance to submit Ayub's nomination papers.

The nomination papers for the two candidates were received by Secretary-General National Assembly Tahir Hussain.

The scrutiny of nomination papers will be completed by 3pm today (Saturday).

PM election process

The election for the PM would be conducted through the division of members in the house.

As per the Constitution, before the voting process begins for the slot of prime minister, bells will ring for five minutes inside the Parliament House to inform every member — in case they are not present in the chamber at the moment — to gather inside.

Once the process begins, the doors will be locked, and no one will be allowed to enter or leave the hall till the PM’s election is concluded.

For example, if there are two candidates, the speaker will say that ‘whoever wants to vote for candidate A can go to lobby A’ and ‘whoever wants to vote for candidate B, can go to lobby B’.

If there are three candidates then there can be a lobby C as well.

At the entrance of the said lobbies, a member of the assembly secretariat staff will record the name of every member of the National Assembly in the register.

The whole process will be open and people sitting in the galleries will be able to see who votes for whom. The political parties have to vote collectively and every member has to vote for the candidate that their party is voting for.

Section 91(4) of the Constitution states, “The Prime Minister shall be elected by the votes of the majority of the total membership of the National Assembly: Provided that, if no member secures such a majority in the first poll, a second poll shall be held between the members who secure the two highest numbers of votes in the first poll and the member who secures a majority of votes of the members present and voting shall be declared to have been elected as Prime Minister:

Provided further that, if the number of votes secured by two or more members securing the highest number of votes is equal, further poll shall be held between them until one of them secures a majority of votes of the members present and voting.”

 

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Khawaja Asif named PML-N parliamentary leader in NA​

Updated Mar 02,

Khawaja Asif has officially been designated as the parliamentary leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in the National Assembly. The appointment notification for Khawaja Asif has been duly issued.

Ahsan Iqbal, the Secretary General of PML-N, communicated Asif's appointment to the Speaker of the National Assembly via a formal letter.

In a separate development, the PML-N has issued a show cause notice to the recently elected Member of the National Assembly (MNA), Nelson Azeem. The notice is in response to Azeem's non-participation in the elections for speaker and deputy speaker in the National Assembly.

 

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PTI protests alleged election irregularities, calls for justice​

Mar 02,
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) organised nationwide protests on Saturday, alleging electoral malpractice during the general elections held on February 8. After clashes with law enforcement, several PTI leaders and supporters were taken into police custody.

Claiming electoral violations, PTI supporters gathered across the country for protests. The Insaf Lawyers Forum (ILF), along with PTI supporters, held a demonstration outside the Lahore High Court (LHC) in Lahore. Despite a strong police presence at GPO Chowk, water cannons were ready to disperse protesters.

At GPO Chowk, law enforcement used batons to disperse agitated PTI supporters, leading to the detention of several leaders and activists, including Mian Shehzad Farooq, Hafiz Zeeshan, and former Secretary of the Supreme Court Bar, Aftab Bajwa.

 

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Nomination papers of presidential candidates filed at IHC​

Mar 02,
PPP’s Farooq H Naik and Saleem Mandviwala arrived in the courtroom of IHC Chief Justice Aamir Farooq to file nomination papers of party co-chairperson Asif Zardari as the coalition government’s nominee for president.

Justice Farooq will receive nomination papers of the candidates as the presiding officer for the presidential elections.

On the other hand, opposition members of the Sunni Ittehad Council including Latif Khosa and Omar Ayub also arrived at the high court to submit PkMAP chief Mahmood Achakzai’s nomination papers.

The elections are scheduled to be held on March 9.