Ruling coalition sweeps polls on 19 Senate seats
Pakistan
Results show PPP wins 11 seats, PML-N grabs five, MQM one and independent one
- Election for 11 seats in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been delayed
ISLAMABAD/ LAHORE/ KARACHI (Dunya News) – The coalition partners, PPP and PML-N, secured victories in polls for 19 Senate seats across Punjab, Sindh, and Islamabad, while the election for 11 seats in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was delayed over the KP Assembly speaker's refusal to administer oaths to women and minority lawmakers-elect from the PML-N on the reserved seats.
The PPP obtained the highest number of seats with 11 wins, while the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz obtained six seats. The MQM-Pakistan managed to secure one seat, while an independent candidate also succeeded in winning a seat.
Voting took place for 19 vacant seats in the Senate, including 12 from Sindh, five from Punjab, and two from Islamabad. Voting started at 9am and continued until 4pm.
ISLAMABAD
On the general seat from Islamabad, Rana Mahmoodul Hassan of the PPP succeeded with 224 votes, while independent candidate Farzand Hussain Shaqh obtained 79 votes.
On the technocrat seat, PML-N's Ishaq Dar secured victory with 222 votes, while independent candidate Ansar Kiyani received 81 votes. During the counting on the technocrat and general seats, seven votes were rejected on each seat.
SINDH
The PPP succeeded in securing five general seats, two women seats, two technocrat seats, and one minority seat in Sindh.
PPP's Quratulain Marri and Rubina Khalid secured Senate seats with 59 and 58 votes, respectively. For the technocrat seat, PPP's Sarmad Ali and Barrister Zamir Ghumro secured seats with 59 and 58 votes, respectively. On the general seats, PPP's Kazim Ali with 21 votes, Ashraf Jatoi with 22, Masroor Ahsan with 21, Nadeem Bhutto with 21, and
Dost Ali Jaisar with 21 votes stood victorious, while Ponjomal Bheel succeeded on the minority seat with 117 votes.
On one of the two general seats from Sindh, independent candidate Faisal Vawda secured victory with 21 votes, while MQM's Amir Chishti secured victory with 21 votes on the other seat.
PUNJAB
On the technocrat seat, Mohammad Aurangzeb secured victory with 128 votes, while Masood Malik succeeded with 121 votes. On the minority seat, PML-N's Khalil Tahir secured victory with 253 votes, while on the women's seat, Anusha Rahman and Bushra Anjum Butt secured victory with 125 and 123 votes, respectively.
BALOCHISTAN
All candidates for the 11 Senate seats from the Balochistan Assembly have been elected unopposed.
KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA
The Senate elections for 11 seats in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been delayed over the controversy of KP Assembly speaker's refusal to administer the oath to women and minority lawmakers-elect from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on the reserved seats.
Earlier, the Election Commission of Pakistan completed all preparations for the nationwide Senate elections scheduled for Tuesday (today). As many as 59 candidates were in the run for the Senate elections.
PARTY STANDINGS
After the elections, the PPP holds the first position in the Senate with a total of 24 seats, closely followed by both the PML-N and the PTI, each with 19 seats. The Jamaat-e-Islami has secured five seats, the Balochistan Awami Party four, and the Awami National Party three. Additionally, there are 11 other members who have successfully become senators.
BREAKUP OF SEATS
The election was held on one general and one technocrat seat from the federal capital, two women seats, two technocrat/ulema seats, and one non-Muslim seat from Punjab. Similarly, Sindh saw elections for seven general, two women, two technocrat/ulema, and one non-Muslim seat.
Additionally, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was supposed to hold elections for seven general, two women, and two technocrat seats.
The polls were scheduled for 29 general seats, eight seats for women, nine seats for technocrats/ulema, and two seats for non-Muslims.
BALLOT PAPERS
Ballot papers in four different colours were printed for the Senate elections. White papers was used for general seats, green for technocrat seats, pink for women, and yellow for minority seats.
According to the ECP, a total of 147 candidates submitted their nomination papers for the vacant seats. Of them, 18 were elected unopposed out of which seven were from Punjab’s general seats.
Similarly, in Balochistan, senators for seven general seats, two women seats, and two ulema/technocrat seats won without any opposition.
According to the ECP, the elections aimed to fill the seats left vacant by half of the current senators who retired on March 12. Out of the 52 senators who completed their six-year terms and retired, elections were held for 48 seats.
Four seats were abolished following the merger of the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) regions into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Consequently, the Senate’s total number of seats was decreased from 100 to 96. Recently, the ECP released a detailed code of conduct for parties and candidates ahead of the Senate elections.
CODE OF CONDUCT
The code aimed to guarantee transparency, integrity, and fairness throughout the electoral process. The code of conduct imposed stringent guidelines on political parties and the candidates involved in the elections.
They were urged to avoid making the electoral watchdog controversial and were prohibited from engaging in corrupt or illegal activities. Additionally, any support from public office holders to influence election outcomes was strictly forbidden.
