Pakistan election regulator finalizes arrangements for Senate polls on April 2

Pakistan Frontier Constabulary (FC) personnel stand guard in front the Election Commission office in Islamabad on February 9, 2024, a day after national elections were held in the country. (AFP/File)

• A total of 147 candidates submitted their nomination papers for the 48 vacant seats, according to election commission
• Of these, 18 have been elected unopposed, including seven members each from the Punjab and Balochistan provinces

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has finalized preparations for elections to the Senate, the upper house of the bicameral Pakistan parliament, scheduled to be held on April 2, Pakistani state media reported on Sunday.
Elected for a term of six years, Pakistani senators discuss laws and vote on them like other public representatives. However, half of the senators retire every three years and new ones are elected to replace them.
Pakistan’s Senate consists of 100 members, of which 52 retired this month, with polls due to on 48 vacant seats. Elections usually take place days before the senators’ terms end, but it was delayed this time due to the ECP’s failure to hold timely general elections.
Returning officers have already issued a final list of the candidates contesting elections on 48 vacant seats, while transportation of election materials to returning officers has been completed, the state-run APP news agency reported.
“Polling would be held in the National Assembly and all four provincial assemblies from 9 AM to 4 PM,” the report read.
“Ballot papers in four different colors have been printed for the Senate elections. White papers will be used for general seats, green for technocrat seats, pink for women, and yellow for minority seats.”
Of the 52 seats that fell vacant this month, elections are being held for 48 seats because four seats reserved for erstwhile federally administered tribal areas (FATA) have already been abolished after their merger with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
A total of 147 candidates submitted their nomination papers for the 48 vacant seats, according to the ECP. Of these, 18 have been elected unopposed, including seven each from Punjab and Balochistan on general seats, two on women seats, and two on seats reserved for scholars or technocrats.
Tuesday’s polls will be held on the remaining 30 seats, in which 59 candidates are contesting.