ISLAMABAD – Prime Minister Imran Khan will take a fresh vote of confidence from the National Assembly, his cabinet announced on Thursday.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government will move a summary to the president to summon a new session of the lower house of Parliament, Shah Mehmood Qureshi said while addressing a press conference along with federal ministers Shafqat Mehmood, Asad Umar, Shireen Mazari, Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, Syed Ali Haider Zaidi, Hammad Azhar and others in Islamabad.
The decision came in the backdrop of an upset in the Senate elections in which Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani of Pakistan Democratic Movement won the general seat from Federal Capital by securing 169 votes against 164 secured by Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh of PTI.
Qureshi described the victory of Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani on the general seat of Senate from the federal capital as a “negation of democracy”.
He further said that the Election Commission has failed to discharge its responsibilities and ensure a transparent election. “Votes were also bought and sold in the last Senate election,” the Foreign minister claimed.
PDM’s joint candidate Yousaf Raza Gillani had defeated PTI’s Abdul Hafeez Sheikh in an upset victory against the government in yesterday’s Senate election.
Yousaf Raza Gillani secured 169 votes while Abdul Hafeez Shaikh could only win 164 votes. A total of 7 votes were rejected by the Election Commission of Pakistan.
On the other hand, PTI candidate Fauzia Arshad won the women’s seat with 174 votes while PML-N candidate Farzana Kausar got 161 votes with 5 votes getting rejected.
