Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan will seek a vote of confidence in the National Assembly, or the lower house of parliament, on Saturday March 6. In his address to the nation on Thursday, Khan said that money has been influencing Senate elections for the past 30-40 years, adding that it poses challenges for the country.
Stating that the Electoral Commission’s responsibility is to conduct fair and transparent elections, Khan questioned why the electoral body conducted the elections by secret ballot.
Khan’s call for a vote of confidence comes a day after his finance minister was defeated in a tight Senate election.
Khan’s close aide and Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh lost to former Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani in the Senate elections on Wednesday. Khan, the president of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), had personally campaigned for his cabinet colleague.
Following Gilani’s victory, several opposition leaders harshly criticized Khan and called for his resignation.
The ruling PTI had claimed that it had the support of 182 members, while 172 votes were needed to elect the senator. The Pakistan Electoral Commission announced that Gilani received 169 votes while Shaikh received 164 votes.
Gilani, a veteran of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), was a consensus candidate of the alliance Opposition – Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM).
The ruling party leaders, however, rejected Khan’s requests for resignation. “The opposition leaders should be ashamed. With what face and character can you say that Imran Khan should resign or say not to trust him? ”Said Information Minister Shibli Faraz.
With PTI inputs
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