Opposition to field joint candidates for Senate election

PESHAWAR: The combined opposition in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly would field joint candidates for the upcoming Senate elections after having almost reached an agreement on seat adjustment formula, The News has learnt reliably.
The sources said that three major political parties including Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl, (JUI-F), Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) would nominate candidates for the general seats while Awami National Party (ANP) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), which have five members each in the provincial assembly, would field candidates for the technocrats and women seats in the next Senate polls from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to be held on March 3.
In the Upper House of Parliament, 12 senators from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are about to complete their six-year term. Secret ballot would be held for the vacant seats and the MPAs would have the right to vote. The polls will be held for seven general seats, two each for technocrats and women and one for minority candidate.
The combined opposition parties have 53 MPAs in the 124-member Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly. The JUI-F has 17, PML-N 16, QWP 10, and ANP and PPP five members each.
The parliamentary party leaders of the opposition parties held two meetings with opposition leader Maulana Lutfur Rehman in the chair and almost agreed on the seat adjustment formula, said a parliamentary party leader who requested not to be named.
Under the formula, the opposition parties could easily secure five seats. The three major parties JUI-F, PML-N and QWP would nominate their candidates for general seats while ANP would field a candidate for the technocrats’ seats and the PPP for the seats for women.
He said that all the parties would be independent to select their respective candidates. However, he added that the names of the candidates would be discussed and approved in a joint meeting prior to the submission of the nomination papers.
It is worth mentioning that the ruling alliance of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Jamaat-e-Islami and Awami Jamhoori Ittehad Pakistan would also nominate joint candidates for the Senate elections. Some rich aspirants also intend to contest the Senate elections in an independent capacity.
For contesting the Senate polls, a candidate would require two MPAs to propose and second their candidature for filing nomination papers. Incidentally, there are only two independent MPAs in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly and they would be in high demand to propose and second independent candidates and also cast their votes in their favour.