- Saad Rafique meets PPP leader, asks him to consider settling election for Senate chairman, his deputy with PML-N
- PML-N, PPP likely to win almost same numbers in Senate
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government has quietly proposed Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari to mutually settle the upcoming election for the two top positions in the Senate to undermine the minor political players such as the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Pakistan Today has learnt.
Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique conveyed his party’s proposal to Zardari in a meeting held on Friday.
Out of total 104 members of the Upper House of parliament, 52 members are set to retire in March. The four provincial and National Assembly would elect the same number of members on March 5, triggering a close battle between the PPP and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) as both may be left with almost same number of votes after the elections. Members of the Upper House would then elect their new chairman and his deputy.
PPP’s number in the Senate is most likely to shrink from 40 to 26 while the PML-N is all set to replace the PPP as the largest party with around 28 members. Smaller parties like PTI would play a key role in the election for the two top Senate seats.
A source privy to the details of the meeting said on condition of anonymity that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif wanted to keep the PTI at bay since the party was unlikely to support either the PPP or PML-N candidates, leaving other smaller parties like Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), Muttahida Qaumi Movement and others to make efforts to blackmail the federal and Sindh governments, respectively.
“According to the government’s calculation, the coalition government would have around 45 votes while the PPP and its coalition parties may also have the same number of votes. In this scenario, the votes of some minor parties, including PTI and its allied parties who are likely to win around seven seats would decide the election. So both the PML-N and PPP want to avoid this as in such a case they would have to return to PTI to win their votes,” the source added.
The source said that the PPP plans to field Rehman Malik for the top Senate slot. They added that Malik believes that he would be able to secure the vote of Jamaat-e-Islami chief Sirajul Haq and some independent candidates just as he had succeeded in bagging the support of the MQM.
“During the meeting, Saad Rafique offered a power-sharing deal to Zardari but the latter said that he would consult his party’s top leadership before taking any decision,” the source added.
The PPP claims to have won support of around 45 senators including its 26 members, eight from the MQM, six of Awami National Party (ANP), two from Balochistan-National Party-Awami, and four from PML-Quaid (PML-Q). On the other hand, the PML-N and its allies may win support of around 52 members.
The PML-N also enjoys support of 11 senators from FATA. Fazlur Rehman’s JUI-F is likely to increase its Senate number to eight, PML-Functional would win one while Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) and National Party (NP) would also have around two seats each.
