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NA elects first female speaker with 2/3rds majority

* Fehmida Mirza bags 249 votes in the 342-member Houseg Faisal Karim Kundi wins post of deputy speaker with 246 votes

By Zulfiqar Ghuman and Muhammad Bilal

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly (NA) elected its first female speaker on Wednesday, as Pakistan People’s Party MNA Fehmida Mirza made history after winning more than two-thirds of the total votes.

Dr Mirza was nominated for the position by the PPP-led would-be ruling coalition that includes the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), the Awami National Party and the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl. She won with 249 votes (21 more than the two-thirds majority of 228) against the 70 votes garnered by her opponent, Sardar Israr Tareen, in the 342-member National Assembly.

Mirza, 51, was administered oath of office by the outgoing speaker, Chaudhry Amir Hussain. He hailed her appointment and hoped that she would be able to run the house in an amicable way. After taking the oath of office, Mirza conducted the election of the National Assembly deputy speaker.

Faisal Karim Kundi, the PPP-led coalition nominee for the office of deputy speaker, trounced his opponent, Khushbakhat Shujaat. Kundi won with 246 votes to Shujaat’s 68.

Following the NA session, Speaker Dr Mirza told her first press conference that MNAs from both the treasury and opposition benches should work together in harmony. She said that it was the responsibility of everyone in government to play their role in bringing the country out of the crises of terrorism, inflation, power and water shortage.

On the restoration of the judiciary through a parliamentary resolution, she said the members would decide on it. The speaker said a session of the NA could be summoned on a requisition for the election of prime minister. She said that she would like parliament to debate on all major issues and frame a policy.

In total, 324 votes were cast for the election of speaker, in which 319 were declared as valid. Four MNAs — Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Maulvi Asmatullah, Hamid Yar Hiraj and Maulana Noorul Haq Qadri — did not cast their vote. In the deputy speakerer’s election, 318 votes were polled, and four were declared as invalid.

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