According to ARY News in Pakistan, the Balochistan Assembly has been called to order for the oath-taking ceremony of the newly elected Provincial Assembly Members. The action took place on February 28. Balochistan Governor Abdul Wali Kakar has reportedly sent out a formal notification convening the assembly for the newly elected members’ swearing-in ceremony on February 28 at 3 p.m. (local time). At the official induction of the elected representatives into the legislative body, Speaker of the Balochistan Assembly Jan Jamali will administer the oath.
Notably, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) emerged as the joint single-largest party with the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in Balochistan after the elections. Out of 51 general seats of the Balochistan Assembly, the JUI-F and the PPP have won 11 seats each in February 8 elections.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has won 10 seats. However, PPP and PML-N managed to surpass the JUI-F in the Balochistan Assembly after some independent candidates joined them.
PML-N refused to form a coalition government with JUI-F in Balochistan and announced willingness to share power with Pakistan People’s People (PPP) in the province too.
Despite ongoing protests, the newly elected Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) representatives were sworn into the 16th Sindh Assembly on Saturday, according to Dawn. The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) is far behind in second place with 28 seats, while the PPP leads the province with 84 seats, according to the results released by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). The Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) and the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) each received two seats, while independent candidates, including those of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), won fourteen seats.
Remarkably, following the February 8 general elections, in which at least 313 MPAs were elected to the Punjab Assembly just one day prior, the Sindh Assembly is the second to have its legislators take the oath of office, according to Dawn. Despite ongoing protests by the GDA, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), and other parties against alleged election manipulation, assembly proceedings continued. The Dawn report states that the caretaker provincial government previously declared that rallies and public meetings in the Sindh Assembly’s “Red Zone” would be prohibited by Section 144.
