*ISLAMABAD - Asad Qaiser has been announced as the new Speaker of the National Assembly with 176 votes while Khursheed Shah secured 146 votes.*
*Total 330 votes were polled while 8 votes were rejected.*
*Polling for the new speaker of the National Assembly is over. The speaker and deputy speaker will be announced shortly.*
The votes were recounted after PPP leader Shazia Marri and Umar Ayub raised objections. They are some of the MNAs overseeing the vote count.
This is the second session of the 15th National Assembly. The voting for the speaker and deputy speaker is taking place through secret balloting.
The PTI, which has the highest number of seats in the lower house, has nominated Asad Qaiser as its candidate for speaker. The opposition parties filed the nomination papers for PPP leader Khursheed Shah. Shah served as the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly in the previous term.
The PTI submitted the nomination papers of Qasim Khan Suri as its candidate for the deputy speaker. Maulana Asad Mehmood is the opposition’s candidate for the post.
The PTI enjoys the backing of the MQM, BAP, BNP-Mengal, GDA, PML-Q, Awami Muslim League and Jamhoori Watan Party in the National Assembly. The PTI has 151 seats, MQM has seven, BAP five, BNP-Mengal four and GDA three while the Awami Muslim League and Jamhoori Watan Party have one seat each. Of the four independent elected MNAs, two have declared their support for the PTI. This means the PTI has 177 votes.
On the other hand, the opposition has the 81 votes of the PML-N, 53 of the PPP, 15 of the MMA and one of the ANP. In total, the opposition candidates can get 150 votes.