PML-N wins clear majority in Senate elections

Polling for Senate elections underway in the National Assembly. (AN photo by Aamir Shah)

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (Arab News) – Pakistan’s ruling party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), on Saturday bagged a clear majority with 15 seats, followed by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) which won 12 seats in the crucial Senate elections.
The PML-N has also emerged as the single largest party in the Upper House of the Parliament with a total of 33 senators and is now in a clear position to elect its chairman Senate as well.
According to unofficial and provisional results of Senate polls, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has bagged six seats, Jamiat Ulma-e-Islam (Fazal) two seats, while one each was gained by Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM), Jamat-e-Islami (JI), and Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F), and two each by Pukhtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) and National Party.
A total of ten independent candidates – six from Balochistan and four from Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) – have also won the Senate election.
According to Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), four senators were to be elected from FATA; 11 each from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan, 12 each from Sindh and Punjab, and two from Islamabad.
The province-wise breakdown of the results shows the PML-N won 11 seats in Punjab while the PTI got one; the PPP won 10 seats in Sindh and the MQM-P and PML-F got one each.
In KP province, the PTI won five seats while two each were secured by PML-N and PPP, one each by JUI-F and the JI.
Six independent candidates won in Balochistan in addition to the National Party and PkMAP, which bagged two seats, and the JUI-F, which gained one.
The PML-N also won both Senate seats from Islamabad.
A total of 133 candidates were running for 52 Senate seats in the elections, which started at 9am and continued smoothly till 4pm in the National Assembly and all the four provincial assemblies.
All new members of the Senate would take oath on March 12 and the new Chairman Senate would be elected on the same day.
Pakistan’s Upper House of Parliament — the Senate — consists of 104 members: 23 from each of Pakistan’s four provinces, eight from FATA, and four from Islamabad.
The PPP witnessed a pleasant surprise in both Sindh and KP as it won 10 seats and two in the provinces respectively where it could win only seven seats from Sindh as per its numerical strength. Likewise, the PTI also clinched a seat in Punjab irrespective of its numerical strength.
Newly elected Senator of the PML-N from Islamabad, Mushahid Hussain Syed, said the Senate elections have disseminated a clear message to all “unseen forces” in the country that the future of Pakistan lies in democracy and rule of law.
“I’ll try my best to serve the people by highlighting their issues on the floor of Senate,” he told Arab News, adding that all those forces that wanted to stall the Senate elections and the democratic process have been defeated.
Another senator-elect, Hidayat Ullah from FATA, said that his area has suffered much due to terrorism and extremism and he would urge the government to allocate special development funds for the tribal areas.
“We will struggle to get due rights of the tribal people,” he told Arab News.
“The FATA reforms and development projects like establishment of schools and hospitals will remain our top priority,” he said.
The senators are elected on the basis of numerical strength of parliamentary parties in the National Assembly and the provincial assemblies. But horse-trading (switching of political loyalty of elected members) results in surprises as Senate elections are held through secret ballot.
Talking to Arab News, the PML-N senator and secretary of information Mushahidullah Khan said the clear victory of his party in the Senate elections has helped to bury all conspiracies against democracy in the country.
“This result shows the trust of people and their elected representatives in democracy and the leadership of Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif,” he said. “This also shows we will emerge victorious in the upcoming general elections as well.”
Rasul Bukhsh Rais, political analyst, said the results of the Senate elections would have the least impact on the general elections as they do not reflect public opinion.
“The general elections is a different ball game as political parties have to contact people directly for the votes,” he told Arab News.
Rangers and Frontier Constabulary personnel were deployed outside the parliament and the provincial assemblies to deal with any untoward incident during the polling for Senate seats.