Sardar Ayaz Sadiq elected as Speaker of Pakistan's National Assembly

ISLAMABAD: Amidst a neck-to-neck battle of political parties to rise to supreme power in Pakistan, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq who hails from the party headed by the country's former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has been elected as the 22nd Speaker of the new National Assembly (NA), the ARY News outlet reported.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate Sardar Ayaz Sadiq secured 199 votes over his rival candiate Aamir Dogar of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) who ssecured 91 votes. PlayUnmute Fullscreen

Raja Pervaiz Ashraf notably chaired the National Assembly (NA) session for the election of the new Speaker. The Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), however, protested during the session.

According to ARY News, the election of the Speaker was held through a secret ballot.

After the official announcement by Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Sardare Ayaz Sadiq was sworn oath as the new Speaker of the National Assembly.

As Raja Pervaiz Ashraf stepped down from his position, the new Speaker took charge of the house following the oath-taking ceremony.

The new Speaker will now conduct the election of the deputy speaker.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), President, Shehbaz Sharif nominated Sardar Ayaz Sadiq for the position of Speaker of the National Assembly on behalf of PML-N, and Bilawal Bhutto named Ghulam Mustafa Shah as the candidate for Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly on behalf of Pakistan People's Party (PPP), reported ARY News.

Former Prime Minister Imran Khan's party the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had nominated Aamir Dogar for the position of Speaker of the National Assembly, while PTI's Junaid Khan's name was put up for the Deputy Speaker post.