Pakistan’s candidate in the election for the president of the governing council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) bagged the lowest number of votes and was easily defeated by his candidate from Portugal on Monday.
A total of 394 votes were cast in the election and the candidate from Portugal won with a commanding lead of 222 votes, more than the absolute majority of 198 votes. People familiar with developments said on condition of anonymity that India had backed the winning candidate.
The election of the new president of the IPU for the period 2020-23 was done through remote electronic secret ballot. The voting was part of the virtual session of the governing council, the main decision-making body of the IPU comprising parliamentarians from around the world.
The four candidates in the fray for the post of IPU president were Salma Ataullahjan of Canada, Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani of Pakistan, Duarte Pacheco of Portugal, and Akmal Saidov of Uzbekistan.
The Uzbek candidate received 67 votes, the Canadian candidate 53 votes and the Pakistani candidate 52 votes.
Sanjrani, the chairman of Pakistan’s Senate or upper house of Parliament, had widely canvassed for his candidature and even travelled to some countries as part of his campaign.
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The IPU is the apex body of parliaments of countries around the world. The people cited above said it had been clear from the start that the Pakistani candidate had little support.
India has often criticised Pakistan at international forums for its continued support to terrorist groups and leaders, including those designated by the UN Security Council. Pakistan has also tried to raise the Kashmir issue at the Security Council several times with the backing of its close ally China but has found few other takers for its position.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla is leading the three-member Indian parliamentary delegation participating in the virtual session of the governing council of IPU during November 1-4. Besides the election, the session will decide on key issues such as the adoption of the IPU budget and programme of work for 2021.
The presidency of the IPU is rotated between geo-political groups. The outgoing president is Mexican, MP Gabriela Cuevas Barron, who was elected in October 2017. India, part of the Asia-Pacific Group, held the presidency during 1999-2002.
Under the principle of geographical rotation, the next president was to be from the “Twelve Plus Group”, which comprises 47 countries. The group had endorsed the Portuguese candidate by an overwhelming majority.
The IPU president is the political head of the organisation and acts as the body’s representative at global events and gatherings. The IPU, with its headquarters in Geneva, comprises 179 national parliaments and 13 regional parliamentary bodies.