Staff Reporter Islamabad
The top leadership of the PPP met here on Saturday to discuss their candidate Yousaf Raza Gillani’s shock defeat in polls held a day earlier for the Senate chairman’s position.
Despite it holding superior numbers, the Pakistan Democratic Movement’s candidate lost to the government-backed Sadiq Sanjrani with votes split 42-48.
Party co-chair Asif Ali Zardari and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari met with Gillani to discuss the seven votes rejected by the presiding officer in the polls for the Senate chair and finalise a way forward and decided to take the matter to the Islamabad High Court.
The PPP leadership also formed a legal team comprising Farooq H. Naek, Nayyar Bukhari and Lateef Khosa to look into the matter and devise the party’s legal strategy.
“The theft of 7 votes is a failed attempt to divide the Pakistan Democratic Movement,” Bilawal said after the meeting.
“The PPP should not be considered weak. We will challenge the theft of our votes within and outside Parliament and on every forum,” he said. “PDM will challenge the vote thieves vigorously,” he said.
Earlier in the day, Bilawal had dismissed speculation that the PML-N betrayed the PDM’s candidates by wasting votes for the chairman’s election and then casting 7 extra votes to the deputy chairman candidate backed by the government.
