Daily Times

In order to fill 48 vacant seats, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Monday announced holding the Senate elections on April 2.

Fifty-two seats in the upper house of parliament will fall vacant after the expiration of the 6-year term of the incumbent Senators on Tuesday. The elections, however, would be held to elect 48 senators as 4 reserved seats for the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) had been abolished after the 25th Constitutional amendment.

The electoral watchdog said that an official schedule of the elections would be issued on March 14.

Polling would be held to elect members against seven general seats, two women, two seats for technocrats, including Ulema and one seat for non-Muslims from Sindh and Punjab.

In addition to this, lawmakers from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan would elect members against seven general seats, two women and two seats for technocrats, including Ulema.

Members of the National Assembly will elect one general seat and one seat for technocrats, including Ulema from the federal capital, it added.

A day earlier, the ECP appointed returning officers (ROs) in Islamabad and the four provinces for the conduct of the Senate election.

According to a notification issued by the election watchdog on Sunday, ECP Director General Training Saeed Gul will be the Returning Officer (RO) in the federal capital, whereas provincial election commissioners Aijaz Anwar Chohan, Sharifullah, Shamshad Khan, and Muhammad Farid Afridi will be returning officers in Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan, respectively.

In addition to this, the by-election on six vacant seats of the Senate will be held on Thursday (March 14).

According to the election regulator, polling will be held at the upper
house of parliament as well as at Sindh and Balochistan assemblies in Karachi and Quetta.

These seats in the general category fell vacant in the federal capital, two in Sindh and three in Balochistan as senators relinquished their seats, following their election as members of the National Assembly as well as provincial assemblies of Sindh and Balochistan.

Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani and Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri have joined the lower house of parliament after winning the recently concluded general elections.

Similarly, Nisar Ahmed Khoro and Jam Mehtab Hussain Dahar were elected to the Sindh Assembly, whereas Prince Ahmed Umer Ahmedzai and Sarfaraz Ahmed Bugti became members of the Balochistan Assembly.