Sanjrani still Senate chief even after being elected MPA

ISLAMABAD: The Senate Secretariat has issued a statement that Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani has congratulated Sarfraz Bugti on his election as chief minister of Balochistan.

“Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani congratulates Sarfraz Bugti on being elected chief minister of Balochistan…extends best wishes to Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti,” Sanjrani said in the statement.

He said Sarfraz Bugti would play an important role in ending the backwardness of Balochistan and the feeling of deprivation among the people. He was confident that the chief minister would play a key role in providing unemployment and basic amenities of life to the people of Balochistan.

Sanjrani, who was to complete his three-year term as chairman Senate, contested the February 8 general elections and got elected from his native district Chagai, PB-32. According to Form 47, displayed on the Election Commission of Pakistan’s website on February 9, he secured 19,091 votes

and his closest rival of JUI-Fazl Amanullah got 17,178 votes.

However, according to the gazette notification issued on February 15, he won by pocketing 17,948 votes and his opponent Amanullah received 17,389 votes.

Article 223 of the Constitution on bar against double membership says:

1. No person shall, at the same time, be a member of

a. both Houses; or

b. a House and a Provincial Assembly; or

c. the Assemblies of two or more Provinces; or

d. a House or a Provincial Assembly in respect of more than one seat.

2. Nothing in Clause (1) shall prevent a person from being a candidate for two or more seats at the same time, whether in the same body or in different bodies, but if he is elected to more than one seat, he shall, within a period of thirty days after the declaration of the result for the last such seat, resign all but one of his seats, and if he does not so resign, all the seats to which he has been elected shall become vacant at the expiration of the said period of 30 days except the seat to which he has been elected last or, if he has been elected to more than one seat on the same day, the seat for election to which his nomination was filed last.

Explanation: In this clause, “body” means either House or a Provincial Assembly.

3. A person to whom Clause (2) applies shall not take a seat in either House or the Provincial Assembly to which he has been elected until he has resigned all but one of his seats.

4. Subject to Clause (2), if a member of either House or of a Provincial Assembly becomes a candidate for a second seat in accordance with Clause (1), he may not hold concurrently with his first seat, then his first seat shall become vacant as soon as he is elected to the second seat.