ECP issues schedule for election to 48 Senate seats

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday issued the formal schedule for holding elections to 48 Senate’s vacant seats on April 2. According to an ECP notification, nomination papers can be submitted on March 15 and 16, while scrutiny of nomination papers will be carried out till March 19.

Similarly, appeals against the acceptance or rejection of nomination papers, if any, will be disposed of by March 25 while the final list of candidates will be published on March 27. Polling will be held from 9am to 4pm.

“…in pursuance of Section 107 of the Elections Act 2017, read with Clause (3) of Article 59 and Clause (3) of Article 224 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Senate (Election of Members from the Federal Capital) Order 2018…the Election Commission of Pakistan hereby calls upon the Members of National Assembly to elect Members of the Senate against one General seat and one seat for Technocrats including Ulema from the Federal Capital…,” an ECP notification says.

The notification said the ECP also calls upon the members of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan assemblies to elect senators against seven general seats, two women seats and two seats for technocrats including Ulema from each province and one seat for non-Muslims each from Punjab and Sindh provinces, which have become vacant after expiration of the term of incumbent members on March 11. Sadiq Sanjrani, Muhammad Mirza Afridi, Ishaq Dar, Dr Shahzad Waseem, Mian Raza Rabbani, Tahir Bizenjo, Rubina Khalid and Rukhsana Zuberi were among the 52 members of the Senate whose term ended on March 11. It is expected that quite a few of those who bowed out on completion of their term would return to the Senate again next month.

In the absence of both chairman and deputy chairman, the Senate will remain dysfunctional till the time elections are held to fill 48 seats and then the chairman and deputy chairman are elected after the oath-taking of new members of the House.

The term of a senator is six years, but half of them retire every three years and elections are held on vacant seats; these elections are usually held a few days before the end of the term of the senators, but this time it could not happen. In contrast to the term of senators, chairman and deputy chairman are elected for a three-year term. Meanwhile, the ECP spokesperson has said that the misleading rumour about the chief election commissioner (CEC) that he is being made an ambassador in a foreign country is completely baseless. “Neither has the government made any such offer to him nor does he intend to do so. He will remain in his country even after completing his tenure and is not seeking any overseas assignment,” the spokesperson said.

Therefore, he emphasized, those spreading such rumours are warned to act responsibly or else legal action will be taken against them. “Moreover, the CEC knows how to counter such miscreants.”

A day earlier, PTI’s Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Omar Ayub had alleged that the CEC would be posted as Pakistan’s high commissioner in Canada after he completes his term. He also alleged that he was being ‘rewarded’ for agreeing to a recount of votes in 20 constituencies in favour of PMLN.