ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Sunday issued the election schedule for two Senate seats from Islamabad.
Slated for March 3, the Senate elections are being held as 52 members of the Upper House of Parliament retire on March 11.
Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday issued the election schedule. According to the ECP, nomination papers will be acquired from the offices of returning officers concerned (during office timings) from February 4 to February 10. Scrutiny of the nomination papers would be done by February 13.
The list of contesting candidates would be issued on February 15 while nomination papers can be withdrawn till February 16.
According to the ECP, four senators will be elected on general seats from FATA, 11 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan each, and 12 each from Sindh and Punjab — including seven on general seats, two on technocrats’ seats, two on women’s seats and one on a minorities’ seat.
Islamabad too will elect two senators — on general and technocrat seats.
A total of 52 senators are set to complete their term this year.
Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani, Opposition Leader Aitzaz Ahsan, Taj Haider and Farhatullah Babar are among 18 of 26 Pakistan Peoples Party senators who will be retiring on March 11.
Senior party leader and former finance minister Ishaq Dar is among the nine of 27 Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) senators that will be retiring this year.
Five of the six Awami National Party senators will retire, including Ilyas Bilour and Karachi-based Shahi Syed.
Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan will lose four of its eight senators, including Col (retd) Tahir Mashhadi, Nasreen Jalil and Dr Farogh Naseem.
Mushahid Hussain Sayed — the head of the Senate Defence Committee, is among the four PML-Quaid senators retiring this year.
The Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl will lose three out of its five senators.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) will lose only one out of its seven senators, i.e. Azam Swati leaving six colleagues behind.
The Senate constitutes a total of 104 members — 23 each from the four provinces, eight from FATA and four from Islamabad. The 23 provincial seats have 14 general, and four each for women and technocrats, one for minorities.
Half of the Senate retires after every three years, while the total term for a senator is six years.
