LAHORE: The newly-elected members of the Punjab Assembly will take oath today (Friday) as the provincial assembly is all set to meet for the first session.
Under the constitution it is necessary to call the first session of the House within 20 days of holding elections which were held on February 8.
The Pakistan Muslim League-N has emerged as the largest party in the provincial legislature. The party has already nominated Maryam Nawaz, the party’s chief organizer for the slot of the chief minister.
During the session which will begin at 10am, the House will first elect the speaker and the deputy speaker and then the chief minister.
The Election Commission of Pakistan also issued notifications for reserved seats in the Punjab Assembly. PML-N leads with 36 seats reserved for women, followed by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) with three seats. PML-Quaid secured two seats. The PML-N also secured five minority seats in Punjab Assembly.
However, the number of reserved seats to be allocated to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-backed independents who have joined the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) is not clear as the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has yet to determine whether they are eligible for the purpose.
Meanwhile, a senior party meeting has decided that the PTI-backed MPAs will attend Friday’s session of the Punjab Assembly, including the party’s chief minister candidate Mian Aslam Iqbal.
