The Balochistan Assembly will convene its maiden session on Wednesday (today) with the newly-elected members of the provincial legislature set to take oath when the House meets at 3pm.
The authorities have barred the entry of guests in light of the expected protests and the prevailing law and order situation in the province.
Moreover, as per the assembly’s secretariat, Zamrak Khan Achakzai has been appointed as the presiding officer for the session.
The 51 members, elected on general seats, who will be taking their oath today include members of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmakers.
The members of these two major parties, who are expected to form a coalition government in the centre, emerged victorious in the 65-member House which includes 11 reserved seats for women and three for minorities.
The Bilawal-led party has 11 seats in the assembly and PML-N has 10 seats. Meanwhile, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) have 10 and five seats, respectively.
Furthermore, as many as six independent candidates have also made it to the Balochistan Assembly along with the National Party (NP) and Balochistan National Party (BNP) who have secured three and one seats, respectively.
Following their oaths, the legislators, in the session that will continue in the coming days, will vote for the election of the House’s speaker and deputy speaker followed by the election of the chief minister.
With a divided provincial assembly where no political party managed to secure a simple majority in the February 8 polls, the PPP and the PML-N might join hands to form their government as they already have agreed to form a coalition government in the Centre.
Balochistan Assembly’s inaugural session comes as newly-elected members of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Assembly will also be taking their oath today.
Sindh and Punjab Assemblies have already administered the oath of their members who have elected their speakers, deputy speakers and chief ministers.
Source:https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1162402-newly-elected-members-of-balochistan-assembly-to-take-oath-today
