ISLAMABAD: The by-election for six vacant Senate seats is scheduled for Thursday. According to the Election Commission of Pakistan, voting will take place at the National Assembly in Islamabad, as well as at the Sindh and Balochistan assemblies in Karachi and Quetta.
Chief Minister Balochistan Sarfaraz Ahmed Bugti, Jam Mehtab Hussain Dahar, Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, Prince Ahmed Umer Ahmedzai, Syed Yousuf Raza Gillani, and Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri all left these seats empty after winning elections in the recently held general elections.
These seats which include three seats from Balochistan, two from Sindh, and the federal capital were become vacant in the general category.
Having won the recently ended general elections, Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani and Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri have joined the National Assembly. In the same way, Prince Ahmed Umer Ahmedzai and Sarfaraz Ahmed Bugti were elected to the Balochistan Assembly, while Nisar Ahmed Khoro and Jam Mehtab Hussain Dahar were elected to the Sindh Assembly.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission of Pakistan has designated returning officers in Islamabad and the four provinces of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan to oversee the Senate elections.
As per a notification from the Election Commission, National Assembly members will elect one general seat and one technocrat seat, including Ulema, from the federal capital.
The Election Commission has also urged members of the provincial assemblies to elect candidates for seven general seats, two women’s seats, and two technocrat seats, including Ulema, from each province. Additionally, one seat for non-Muslims each from Punjab and Sindh will become vacant after the incumbent senators’ terms expire today.
