PML-N’s Rana Sanaullah elected as senator

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah has been elected senator in the Senate by-election on Tuesday.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader contested election on the Punjab seat that had fallen vacant after disqualification of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senator Ejaz Chaudhry, over his conviction in the May 9 cases.

Polling for the Senate by-election was held at the Punjab Assembly Hall, which continued uninterrupted from 9:00 am until 4:00 pm.

The contest was between Sanaullah and PTI’s Salma Ijaz for the Senate seat.

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State-run media, APP, reported that Sanaullah secured a resounding victory in the poll, clinching 250 votes.

Only one ballot was rejected during the counting process. Sanaullah, who required 181 votes to win, comfortably surpassed the threshold with a commanding margin.

Salma, on the other hand, failed to secure any vote, as the opposition boycotted the polling.

Provincial Election Commissioner and Returning Officer Sharifullah formally announced the result after the completion of the vote count, the APP said.

It is pertinent to mention that Ejaz on September 5 filed another petition in the Lahore High Court, challenging his disqualification following conviction in the May 9 cases.

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The petitioner had contended that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) following his conviction in the May 9 cases issued a notification disqualifying him from his Senate membership.

He had argued that disqualification from the Senate cannot be carried out without granting the right to appeal against the conviction.

The petitioner had also objected to the Senate by-election and termed it illegal.

He, therefore, had asked the court to declare both, the disqualification notification and the by-election schedule as illegal and unconstitutional.