Four candidates file nomination papers for Senate by-poll in Sindh

A total of four candidates have filed their nomination papers to contest the Senate by-election to be held next month to fill a general seat from Sindh that has fallen vacant due to the death of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) senator Taj Haider.

Two of the nomination papers have been filed by PPP leaders. They include Waqar Mehdi, the general secretary of the party’s Sindh chapter, and Asif Khan, the deputy information secretary of the Karachi PPP.

Khan is the covering candidate for Mehdi. Two candidates from the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan, Mujahid Rasool and Nighat Mirza, have also submitted their nomination papers.

Talking to journalists after the submission of the nomination papers at the office of the Provincial Election Commissioner Sindh, Sindh Local Government Minister Saeed Ghani said the PPP desired that its candidate was elected to the Senate unopposed.

He said the PPP had a comfortable majority in the Sindh Assembly to win the upcoming Senate by-election if it was held. He said the PPP would request any other political party whose candidates submitted their nomination papers to withdraw their contenders from the race so that its candidate was elected unopposed. He, however, told the media that any other political party was lawfully authorised to field its candidate for the Senate by-election.

Saturday was the last day for filing nomination papers for the Senate by-poll. The nomination papers of all the prospective candidates will be scrutinised on April 22. April 24 will be the last day for filing appeals against the decisions of the Election Commission of Pakistan regarding acceptance or rejection of the nomination papers. The list of the candidates contesting the by-election will be released on April 26. The last date for withdrawal of the nomination papers will be April 28.

The polling for the Senate by-election will be held at the Sindh Assembly building on May 6, 2025. The Provincial Election Commissioner Sindh will act as the returning officer for the by-election.