The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has completed arrangements for the upcoming Senate elections scheduled to be held tomorrow. According to the commission, voting will be held at both the national and provincial assemblies from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
As part of the preparation for the elections, a proposal for the use of the National Assembly hall for the Senate elections will be presented and approved at today’s meeting of the Chamber of Deputies.
Ballots for the Senate elections were printed in four different colors to represent different categories of seats. White papers will be used for general seats, green for technocrat seats, pink for women’s seats, and yellow for minority seats.
The handover of election materials, including ballots, to the returning officer, who ensures the smooth running of the election process, has been completed.
In some assemblies, candidates were elected unopposed. All 11 candidates from the Balochistan Assembly were elected unopposed, along with candidates for seven general seats from the Punjab Assembly.
However, competitions are ongoing in other regions. In Islamabad, two candidates are competing for the seats of general and technocrat.
In Punjab, there are four candidates for women’s seats and three each for technocrat and ulema seats. In addition, two candidates are fighting for a minority seat in the province.
On the other hand, there are 11 candidates for general seats and three for women seats from Sindh. There are four candidates for technocrat seats and two for minority seats.
From Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 16 candidates are contesting for general seats and four candidates are contesting for women seats. In addition, there is competition between six candidates for the posts of ulema and technocrat.
Also read: PTI-backed candidates boycott Senate elections from Sindh
The Election Commission has declared that the Senate vote in the KP Assembly will be postponed unless the members in the reserved seats take the pledge.
Candidates seeking a Senate seat from Balochistan in the upcoming elections to the upper house of parliament were elected unopposed in all seats on March 29.
The Election Commission announced that candidates from Balochistan were elected unopposed in all Senate seats. Seven general seats, two women seats, and two technocrat seats were up for grabs in Balochistan.
Also, 20 of the 33 Senate candidates withdrew their nomination papers, while two candidates withdrew in favor of their opponents, the ECP confirmed.
Moreover, the concerned Returning Officer has issued notifications confirming the undisputed victories of some candidates on the general seats for the upcoming Punjab Senate elections.
Returning Officer Ijaz Anwar Chauhan issued the notification for the seven newly elected senators in general seats where Ahad Khan Cheema, Pervaiz Rasheed, Mohsin Naqvi, Talal Chaudhry, and Nasir Mehmood won with the support of PML-N. Hamid Khan and Raja Nasir Abbas of the Sunni Ittehad Council were also declared winners without facing any opposition.
The Election Commission has also released the final list of candidates vying for Senate seats in Punjab. Federal Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, Dr. Musadik Malik of PML-N, and Dr. PTI’s Yasmin Rashid.
Similarly, four candidates will contest for the two seats reserved for women, including Anusha Rehman, Bushra Anjum Butt, Faiza Malik and Sanam Javed.
Khalil Tahir Sandhu and Asif Ashiq of the Sunni Ittehad Council will contest for the minority seat.
