Senate polls: ECP deadline for filing nomination papers expires tomorrow

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has clarified that the deadline for filing nomination papers for Senate elections on 48 vacant seats would end tomorrow (Saturday).

The electoral watchdog said that the Senate elections would be held on April 2 to fill the vacant seats. The ECP set March 19 as date for scrutiny of nomination papers.

Revised list of the candidates will be issued on 26th of this month whilst candidates can withdraw their nomination papers by March 17, the election regulator added.

It is pertinent to mention here that 52 seats in the upper house of parliament will fall vacant after the expiration of the 6-year term of the incumbent Senators on Tuesday. The elections, however, would be held to elect 48 senators as 4 reserved seats for the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) had been abolished after the 25th Constitutional amendment.

Polling would be held to elect members against seven general seats, two women, two seats for technocrats, including Ulema and one seat for non-Muslims from Sindh and Punjab.

In addition to this, lawmakers from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan would elect members against seven general seats, two women and two seats for technocrats, including Ulema.

Members of the National Assembly will elect one general seat and one seat for technocrats, including Ulema from the federal capital, it added.

The ECP had already appointed returning officers (ROs) in Islamabad and the four provinces for the conduct of the Senate election.

According to a notification issued by the election watchdog, ECP Director General Training Saeed Gul would be the Returning Officer (RO) in the federal capital, whereas provincial election commissioners Aijaz Anwar Chohan, Sharifullah, Shamshad Khan, and Muhammad Farid Afridi would be returning officers in Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan, respectively.

The race for 12 Senate seats in Punjab officially commenced with submission of nomination papers to the office of the Provincial Election Commissioner (PEC) Punjab.

As per the PEC, four candidates submitted their nomination papers for election to the Senate seats on the first day of submission of papers.

The candidates are: Tariq Javed (minority seat), Waleed Iqbal (general seat), Dr Shahzad Wasim (general seat) and Talal Chaudhry (general seat).