Polling for vacant Punjab Senate seat on Monday

LAHORE: The polling for the vacant Senate seat from Punjab will be held on Monday in Punjab Assembly.

As per the schedule announced by Deputy Speaker Zaheer Iqbal Channar on Friday, polling will take place between 9am to 4pm. The legislators holding special cards will be allowed to cast their vote. PMLN has fielded its stalwart from Dera Ghazi Khan Hafiz Abdul Kareem for the seat that fell vacant after the death of renowned religio-political figure Allama Sajid Mir.

Opposition has nominated Kissan leader Mehr Abdul Sattar as its candidate.

PMLN is in a comfortable position to win the Senate seat as it has a support of over 250 MPAs, including allies and PPP legislators. Opposition has a strength of 103 in the House of 371, though with 368 voters are likely to participate.

Punjab Assembly Speaker Malik Ahmad Khan is also abroad and he is likely to miss the polling process.

One seat is vacant and on one seat, the MPA is yet to take oath. PMLN has an individual strength of 229, PPP has 16 MPAs, PMLQ has 11, IPP has seven, PMLZ has one while Sunni Ittehad Council and PTI have 103 now.

According to a senior official, 26 suspended MPAs of PTI are eligible to cast their vote as they are not suspended by the Election Commission but by the PA Speaker.

As per rules, if the MPA is suspended directly by the Election Commission, then he/she is not eligible to cast vote.