The deadline for submitting nomination papers for the Senate elections has ended as the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is all set to hold the polls on April 2, ARY News reported on Saturday.
52 seats in the upper house of parliament will become vacant, but elections will only be held for 48 senators. The reduction is due to the abolition of four reserved seats for the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) following the 25th constitutional amendment.
The election commission will scrutinise the nomination papers, and the process will conclude by March 19, 2024, setting the stage for the next stage of the electoral journey. On March 26, 2024, the eagerly awaited final list of candidates vying for Senate seats will be unveiled.
Punjab
According to a ECP spokesperson, a total of 28 candidates have submitted their nomination papers for election to 12 Senate seats in Punjab.
16 candidates submitted their nomination papers for seven general seats.
Mohsin Naqvi, Ejaz Hussain Minhas, Syed Zulfiqar Abbas Bukhari, Ahad Cheema, Pervaiz Rasheed, Nasir Mehmood, Hamid Khan, Raja Nasir Abbas, Irfan Ahmad Khan, Raja Habibur Rehman, Musadaq Masood Malik, Waleed Iqbal, Dr Shahzad Waseem, and Talal Chaudhry were included in the list of candidates for general seats.
Read More: PTI founder okays candidates for Senate elections
Additionally, four candidates, including Mustafa Ramday, Dr Yasmin Rashid, Musaddaq Masood Malik, and Muhammad Aurangzaib, submitted nomination papers for two technocrat seats.
For the two women seats, five candidates including Faiza Ahmad, Anoshay Rehman, Bushra Anjum Butt, and Sanam Javed, submitted their nomination papers.
Furthermore, three candidates, including Asif Aashiq, Tahir Khalil Sandhu, and Tariq Javed, submitted their nomination papers for one minority seat.
Balochistan
Meanwhile, as total of 36 candidates have submitted nomination papers for 11 Senate seats from Balochistan.
Among them are former Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar, Aaimel Wali Khan, former Caretaker Provincial Minister Amanullah Kanrani, former Senators Kohida Babar and Naseebullah Bazai, while former Federal Minister and Maulana Abdul Wasi.
Read More: ECP appoints polling officer for Senate elections
Jan Buledi, Genghis Jamali, Member of Balochistan Assembly Rahila Durrani, Maulana Abdul Haq Hashmi, Saeedul Hasan Mandukhel have also submitted their nomination papers for the Senate.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
A total of 13 candidates have submitted their nomination papers from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Qazi Anwar Advocate has submitted nomination papers for the seat of technocrat in Senate elections. Mehwish Ali Khan has submitted papers for the women’s seat, Waqar Ahmed Qazi, Khalid Masood have also submitted nomination papers for Technocrat, Provincial Election Commission said.
Likewise, Ayesha Bano also submitted her papers for Senate elections along with Azam Khan Swati and Syed Irshad Hussain have submitted their papers for the Senate Technocrat seats, the Provincial Election Commission said.
Irfan Saleem, Talha Mehmood, Dilawar Khan, Faisal Javed, Mirza Muhammad Afridi and Azhar Qazi Mashwani have also submitted papers for general seats, the Provincial Election Commission said.
Read More: PPP wins four out of six seats in Senate by-elections
So far 8 candidates have submitted nomination papers for 2 Technocrat seats from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Among them, Azam Khan Swati, Qazi Mohammad Anwar Advocate, Waqar Ahmed Qazi, Dr. Hammad Mehmood Cheema, Khalid Masood, Fazal Hanan, Dilawar Khan and Syed Irshad Hussain submitted nomination papers.
Similarly, 16 candidates submitted their papers for 7 general seats, including Irfan Saleem, Muhammad Talha Mehmood, Dilawar Khan, Faisal Javed, Mirza Muhammad Afridi, Azhar Qazi Mashwani, Niaz Ahmed, Waqas Orkazai, Fazl Hanan, Asif Iqbal, Azam Khan Swati, Murad Saeed, Faizur Rehman, Khurram Zeeshan, Ataul Haq and Fida Muhammad.
Likewise, for 2 seats of women, 4 candidates have submitted their papers so far, including Mehwish Ali Khan, Asha Bano, Rubina Naz and Syeda Tahira Bukhari. The papers can be submitted till 6 pm today (Saturday), the Provincial Election Commission said.
