KEY POINTS
- PPP emerges as largest party in Senate, securing 26 seats
- PTI bags six of the 11 Senate seats from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
- PML-N candidate wins Punjab Assembly Senate by-election
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s ruling coalition has secured a majority in the upper house of Parliament after Senate elections held on Monday in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces.
According to the unofficial results of the latest Senate polls, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has emerged as the largest party in the Senate, securing 26 seats.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) follows with 20 seats, while independent candidates hold 6 seats.
The Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) has secured 4 seats, and both the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and the Awami National Party (ANP) hold 3 seats each.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) currently holds 16 seats and is backed by 6 independent senators, bringing its total strength to 22.
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) has 7 seats in the Senate after the elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The ruling alliance will now have the upper hand during the legislative business after securing a majority in the Senate.
KP Senate Elections
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) bagged six of the 11 Senate seats from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while opposition parties jointly secured five, according to unofficial and unconfirmed results of the Senate elections held in the provincial assembly.
A total of 145 members of the assembly cast their votes during the day-long Senate polling. Despite the slow pace, the polling process remained peaceful throughout the day.
The KP Assembly consists of 92 members from the government and 53 from the opposition. To win a general seat, a candidate needed a minimum of 19 votes.
Twelve independent candidates contested across the general, technocrat, and women’s categories.
Earlier, four out of five dissenting candidates from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) announced their withdrawal from the Senate race.
Punjab Assembly
In the Punjab Assembly Senate by-election, PML-N candidate Hafiz Abdul Karim emerged victorious with 243 votes, according to unofficial and unconfirmed results.
His opponent, opposition candidate Mehr Abdul Sattar, secured 99 votes.
Out of 368 total assembly members, 345 votes were cast, with three ballots rejected. Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz was among those who cast their votes.
This seat had fallen vacant following the death of Professor Sajid Mir, leader of the Markazi Jamiat Ahl-e-Hadith Pakistan.
