Polling underway to elect Sindh Assembly speaker

The polling process to elect the speaker of the Sindh Assembly commenced on Sunday, as newly-elected members cast their votes via secret ballot.

The session kicked off with a slight delay after the provincial assembly members took their oaths.

Chairing the session, Sindh Assembly Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani briefed the members on the polling procedures. The first vote was cast by Abdul Basit from the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P).

The contest for the speaker's position features Pakistan Peoples Party's (PPP) Owais Qadir Shah and MQM-P's Sofia Saeed.

Abdul Basit serves as the polling agent for the MQM-P candidate, while Zia Linjar fulfills the role for the PPP candidate.

Both contenders were cleared to participate in the polls after the scrutiny of their nomination papers.

Following the election of the new speaker, the polling will proceed for the deputy speaker's position. PPP's Anthony Naveed and MQM-P's Rashid Khan are in contention for this role.

The papers of both deputy speaker candidates have been deemed valid, setting the stage for the upcoming polling.