The Punjab Assembly’s newly elected speaker, Sibtain Khan, and others were named as respondents in a petition filed on Saturday by the PML-N challenging the election of the assembly’s speaker that had taken place the day before.
According to reports, Mansoor Usman Awan submitted the petition to the Lahore High Court. It claims that the elections’ “legal requirements were not met.”
After the petition was scheduled for hearing, it was noted that the case would be heard by a two-member bench on Monday (August 1).
After former officeholder Pervez Elahi was chosen as the new chief minister of Punjab on July 26, the Punjab Assembly elected PTI’s Sibtain Khan, who was a joint candidate of his party and the PML-Q, as the new speaker on Friday.
Sibtain won the election with 185 votes to Saif ul Malook Khokhar of the PML-N, who was the joint candidate of the opposition, and 175 votes.
According to the petition filed today contesting the election, voting should take place in secret and it is “constitutionally unconstitutional” for ballots to include serial numbers.
The petitioner demanded that the provincial assembly speaker be re-elected and referred to yesterday’s voting as “null and void.”
Atta Tarar, the leader of the PML-N, reiterated the petitioner’s demand for re-election while speaking to journalists.
MPA Rana Mashood reported that the party has asked the Panel of Chair to reject the election. It appears that he was alluding to the PTI when he said, “The party that routinely lies now must be made accountable.”
He demanded that the petition’s hearing be scheduled for today and declared that no assembly proceedings would proceed until a decision had been made in the case.
