ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has decided to hold the Senate elections on April 3.
The ECP has finalized the schedule for the Senate elections. Elections for the 48 Senate seats will be held on April 3 in the national and four provincial assemblies.
On April 3, twelve senators will be elected from Sindh and Punjab, while two senators will be elected from Islamabad. Eleven new senators will become part of the upper house, one each from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
Fifty-two senators in the Senate will retire after their terms end on March 11. Twelve senators each from Punjab and Sindh and four senators from the former Fata will complete their terms.
Similarly, 11 senators from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan and two 2 from Islamabad will retire on March 11. Senators will bid farewell to the upper chamber at the end of their six-year term.
According to the 25th constitutional amendment, the four senate seats of the former Fata will not be re-elected.
The Punjab Assembly will elect 12 new members to the Senate. The regional assembly will elect seven generals, two women, two technocrats and one minority member of the Senate.
Sources say that the Senate elections will be contested by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) with coalition partners (People’s Party, Muslim League-Q and IPP). The Sunni Ittehad Council will field its candidates in the Senate elections as well.
On March 8, 2024, 11 senators from Punjab will complete their term and retire.
Among those who are resigning after the end of their term of office are Dr. PML-N’s Asif Kirmani, Dr. Musadik Malik, Rana Mahmoodul Hassan and Khalid Shaheen Butt.
In the reserved seats for women, two senators belonging to Punjab will retire after completing their six-year term. PML-N Senator Nuzhat Sadiq and PTI’s Seemi Aizdi bid farewell to the upper house.
PTI’s two senators will retire after their term ends. PTI’s outgoing senators will be Dr. Shahzad Wasim and Waleed Iqbal.
Two senators from Punjab will complete their six-year term in seats reserved for technocrats and ulema. Among them are PML-N backed Hafiz Abdul Kareem and Ishaq Dar. Kamran Michael from Punjab will also go to the minority reserved seat.
