Islamabad [Pakistan], March 31 (ANI): As many as 59 candidates would contest for 30 vacant seats in Pakistan's Senate.
The polling to elect thirty members is scheduled to be held on April 2 (Tuesday), Radio Pakistan reported.
The Election Commission of Pakistan has already notified eighteen candidates, who were elected unopposed from Punjab and Balochistan in the disputed general elections, would return to contest the vacant seats in these two provinces, adding that all preparations are in place for the Senate elections on April 2.
According to Radio Pakistan, polling for the 30 seats will now be held in the National Assembly, as well as the provincial assemblies in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said in a statement on Saturday "all was set for the Senate elections on April 2", as the printing of ballot papers and delivery of election material to the returning officers had already been completed, Dawn reported.
The commission said that in all, 147 candidates had filed nomination papers for 48 Senate seats, of whom 18 had been elected unopposed.
They include seven each against general seats from Punjab and Balochistan and two each against reserved seats for women and technocrats from Balochistan.
There will be no election in Balochistan, the report noted.
As many as 11 candidates will vie for seven general seats in Sindh. Three candidates will be in the running for two seats reserved for women, four for two seats reserved for technocrats and two for one seat reserved for minorities from the province, according to Dawn.
In Punjab, where all seven candidates for general seats have already been elected unopposed, three candidates are in the running for two seats reserved for technocrats, four for two reserved seats for women, and two candidates for one seat reserved for minorities.
According to Dawn, as many as 16 candidates will contest against seven general seats from KP. Six candidates are in the running for two seats reserved for technocrats and four for two seats reserved for women from the province.
Two candidates each will vie for a general and a technocrat seat in the federal capital.
Several candidates have secured seats in the upper house of parliament, including Syedal Nasir and Shahzeb Durrani from Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) PML-N, Sardar Umar Gorgej from Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Ahmed Khan from Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F), and Aimal Khan from ANP, on general seats.
Similarly, Jan Muhammad from the National Party, Anwaarul Haq Kakar, who ran independently, Hasana Bano from PPP, and Rahat Jamali from PML-N have also been elected unopposed.
Additionally, PPP's Bilal Ahmed Khan and JUI-F's Maulana Wasay have secured two seats reserved for ulema/technocrats in Balochistan through the electoral process.
Similarly, seven members from Punjab were among those who won unopposed in the Senate elections.
Elections were to be held on a total of 12 seats in Punjab, of which seven are general seats where all candidates won unopposed.
They include Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi (independent), who has served as caretaker Punjab chief minister, and PML-N's Pervaiz Rashid, Ahad Cheema, Talal Chaudhry and Nasir Mehmood. Other successful candidates are MWM's Raja Nasir Abbas and (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf) PTI's Hamid Khan.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has announced that it would be compelled to postpone elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) if the KP Assembly speaker fails to administer the oath to members elected against reserved seats. (ANI)
