Ruling alliance has swept the Senate election on 19 seats from Punjab and Sindh.
A total of 59 candidates for 30 seats of the upper House were in the run for this election that started today morning. The Election Commission of Pakistan has delayed the election in KP 11 seats. Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) won 11, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz won six, Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) secured one seat and an independent candidate also succeeded.
Despite this election the Upper House of the Parliament is still incomplete following the postponement of Senate election in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Finance Minster Muhammad Aurangzeb, Musadik Malik and Faisal Vawda have succeeded in this election. Ishaq Dar secured was elected senator on the technocrat seat with 222 votes, while his opponent Raja Ansar could only secure 81 votes. Rana Mahmoodul Hasan of the Pakistan People’s Party won with 224 votes and defeated his rival Farzand Hussain who could only secure 79 votes. Anusha Rehma and Bushra Anjum Butt of the PMLN stood winners as well.
A total of 310 votes of the National Assembly were polled this day while seven were rejected. From Punjab Muhammad Aurangzeb and Dr. Musadik Malik were elected both on technocrat seats securing 128 and 121 votes respectively. Meanwhile Dr Yasmin Rashid of PTI contested this election while being in jail and secured 106 votes.
Both the PTI backed independent candidates and of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) boycotted this election in Sindh where the PPP has 10 out of 12 seats and MQM and independent candidate one each.
Independent candidate Faisal Vawda who was supported by both the PPP and MQM stood winner from Sindh on a general seat. The PPP’s Dost Ali Jaisar, Ashraf Ali Jatoi, Kazim Ali Shah, Masroor Hassan and Nadeem Bhutto and MQM’s Aamir Wali-ud-din Chishti were all elected on general seats. Zameer Ghamro and Sarmad Ali of the Peoples Party both were elected on the technocrat seat in Sindh. Rubina Qaimkhani and Quratul Ain Marri of the PPP were elected on women’s seats and Poonjo Bheel on the minority seat. A total of 19 contestants took part in this election over 12 seats form the province of Sindh.
Lawmakers from Punjab had to vote for four candidates for women’s seats, and three each for technocrat and Ulemaseats. Moreover, two candidates are contested over minority seat in this province.
However, it is important to note that Senate which is upper House of the Parliament of Pakistan is still incomplete despite this election. This House consists of 96 lawmakers. The reason for only 48 seats in this election of the senate was because half of the senators are elected at one time, and the other half three years later. Each senator serves a term of six years other than reasons of resignation, disqualification and etc. Out of the total 48 seats in this election there were 12 seats each from Punjab and Sindh, 11 each from KP and Baluchistan and two from Islamabad. Earlier all the eleven members from Baluchistan have been elected and similarly seven members from Punjab were earlier elected unopposed.
A major factor behind this fact that this House incomplete because the Election Commission of Pakistan has postponed this election in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as the Speaker of the KP Assembly has not administered oath of around 26 members earlier notified by the ECP on reserve seats. This election has been postponed till the further order as the Speaker of the said assembly so far has not complied with the orders of the ECP and of the Peshawar High Court in that regard.
The KP’s Chief Minister has stated the notification of the ECP in that regard as unconstitutional and has announced that the government will challenge the matter before the SC. It has also been learnt that the President of Pakistan has ordered that newly elected Senator Ishaq Dar will preside over the sessions of the Senate till its Chairman and Deputy Chairman are not elected.
(Author: Senior journalist Rana Kashif)
