Senate elections: deadline to submit nomination papers ends

ISLAMABAD: The deadline to submit nomination papers for a seat in the Senate from provincial assemblies ended today.
Nine candidates, including three each of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), have submitted their nomination papers from Punjab, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) claimed. One Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid’s (PML-Q) candidate and two independent candidates have also filed the papers.
The list of candidates will be published on Feb 9 while the scrutiny of the nomination papers will be completed by Feb 12.
Moreover, Feb 15 will be the last date for filing pleas against the rejection or acceptance of nomination papers and the revised list will be published by Feb 17.
Polling to elect Senate members would be held on March 3.
According to the ECP, four senators will be elected on general seats from FATA, 11 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan each, and 12 each from Sindh and Punjab — including seven on general seats, two on technocrats’ seats, two on women’s seats and one on a minorities’ seat.
Moreover, two senators, one general and one technocrat, will be elected from the federal capital.
A total of 52 senators are set to retire on March 11 this year after completion of their six-year term.
The PPP will lose 18 out of 26 senators including Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani, Opposition Leader Aitzaz Ahsan, Taj Haider and Farhatullah Babar while the PML-N, which has 26 senators, will lose nine seats. Former finance minister Ishaq Dar, who is in London these days, will also be retired.
The Senate comprises 104 members in which 23 each are from four provinces, eight from Fata and four from Islamabad. The 23 seats allocated for each province comprise 14 general seats, four reserved for women, four for technocrats and one for a minority member.