{"id":78247,"date":"2024-04-02T10:12:31","date_gmt":"2024-04-02T10:12:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/senate-polls-under-way-in-na-sindh-and-punjab-assemblies-postponed-in-kp-amid-oath-taking-dispute\/"},"modified":"2024-04-02T10:12:31","modified_gmt":"2024-04-02T10:12:31","slug":"senate-polls-under-way-in-na-sindh-and-punjab-assemblies-postponed-in-kp-amid-oath-taking-dispute","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/senate-polls-under-way-in-na-sindh-and-punjab-assemblies-postponed-in-kp-amid-oath-taking-dispute\/","title":{"rendered":"Senate polls under way in NA, Sindh and Punjab assemblies; postponed in KP amid oath-taking dispute"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div dir=\"auto\">\n<p>Elections on 19 vacant Senate seats are currently under way in the National Assembly and provincial legislatures of Punjab and Sindh. However, they were postponed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by the electoral watchdog over the dispute in swearing-in opposition members elected to reserved seats.<\/p>\n<p>Polling in the NA and the provincial assemblies in Sindh and Punjab started at 9am and is set to conclude at 4pm.<\/p>\n<p>According to <em><a rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"link--external\" href=\"https:\/\/www.radio.gov.pk\/02-04-2024\/polling-to-elect-30-senate-members-being-held-today\">Radio Pakistan<\/a><\/em>, polling is being held in the NA for the election of two senators. Meanwhile, elections are under way in Punjab on five seats \u2014  two women and technocrat seats each and one women\u2019s seat \u2014 and on 12 in Sindh \u2014 seven general seats, two women and technocrat seats each, and one minority seat.<\/p>\n<p>Ballot papers in four different colours have been printed \u2014 white papers will be used for general seats, green for technocrat seats, pink for women, and yellow for minority seats.<\/p>\n<p>The Senate became dysfunctional on March 11 following the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1820927\">retirement<\/a> of 52 lawmakers. The elections are likely to see parties in the ruling coalition \u2014 the PML-N and PPP \u2014 move closer to a two-thirds majority in the upper house of parliament.<\/p>\n<p>The opposition PTI will likely <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1807650\">maintain its position<\/a> as the single largest party in the new house, but it will be in no position to hamper the government\u2019s legislative business.<\/p>\n<p>Elections are not being held in Balochistan as lawmakers on the vacant seats there had been elected unopposed.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"media  w-full  w-full  media--stretch  media--embed  \">\n<p><div class=\"ast-oembed-container \" style=\"height: 100%;\"><iframe title=\"SENATE ELCTION 2024 | PTV PARLIAMENT LIVE | 2-4-2024\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/nVRKCtK1T74?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<h2><a id=\"polls-postponed-in-kp\" href=\"#polls-postponed-in-kp\" class=\"heading-permalink\" aria-hidden=\"true\" title=\"Permalink\"\/>Polls postponed in KP<\/h2>\n<p>Polling did not begin in KP at 9am as scheduled and around two hours later, was postponed by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) \u201con account of delay of oaths of reserved seats\u201d.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"media  sm:w-1\/2  w-full  media--right  media--embed  media--uneven\">\n<p>    <iframe class=\"nk-iframe\" onload=\"setInterval(()=&gt;{try{this.style.height=this.contentWindow.document.body.scrollHeight+'px';}catch{}}, 100)\" width=\"100%\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" style=\"height:400px;position:relative\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/card\/1824457\" sandbox=\"allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-popups allow-modals allow-forms\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>KP election commissioner Shamshad Khan reached the assembly and sought a list of the sworn-in MPAs from the assembly staff. At the same time, the opposition petitioned the ECP to postpone the Senate elections there.<\/p>\n<p>Subsequently, the ECP issued a notification of the poll postponement, which referred to its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1819119\">March order<\/a> wherein it had rejected a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1818696\/verdict-on-reserved-seats-for-sic-likely-after-pms-election\">petition<\/a> filed by the Sunni Ittehad Council \u2014 the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1816169\/pti-backed-independents-join-sunni-ittehad-council\">new face<\/a> of the PTI \u2014 seeking the allocation of reserved seats.<\/p>\n<p>Recalling that the Peshawar High Court (PHC) had upheld its decision, the ECP noted that \u201cno arrangement for oath was made\u201d. It added that the RO for the Senate polls informed the electoral watchdog today that assembly speaker Babar Saleem Swati had still \u201cnot arranged oath\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe commission is of the considered view that the standards of honesty, justness and fairness of election as provided in Article 218(3) of the Constitution cannot be fulfilled due to non-administration of oath to elected members and which amounts to disenfranchisement of lawful voters and denial of level playing field to the voters,\u201d the ECP said.<\/p>\n<p>Stating that the electoral college was \u201cincomplete\u201d, the ECP postponed the elections till the administration of oaths to the MPAs-elect on reserved seats under Article 218(3) of the <a rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"link--external\" href=\"https:\/\/na.gov.pk\/uploads\/documents\/1549886415_632.pdf\">Constitution<\/a> read with sections 4(1), 8(c) and 128 of the <a rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"link--external\" href=\"https:\/\/na.gov.pk\/uploads\/documents\/1506961151_781.pdf\">Elections Act, 2017<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Last week, the ECP had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1824378\">hinted<\/a> at postponing the Senate elections for KP if Swati kept on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1823842\">delaying<\/a> their oath-taking. The speaker had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1825052\/kp-assembly-speaker-files-review-petition-against-phc-verdict-ordering-oath-taking-of-reserved-seat-mpas\">filed<\/a> a review petition yesterday against the PHC <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1824212\">order<\/a> wherein it had directed him to administer oaths to 25 opposition MPAs elected to reserved seats.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur vowed that he would not let \u201cillegal people\u201d take oath \u2014 referring to the MPAs-elect belonging to the opposition parties \u2014 and vowed to \u201cgo to the very end\u201d for that.<\/p>\n<p><figure class=\"media  sm:w-1\/2  w-full  media--right    media--uneven  media--stretch\"><figcaption class=\"media__caption  \">CM Gandapur speaks in Peshawar. \u2014 DawnNewsTV<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n<p>Speaking to media in Peshawar, he insisted the opposition was \u201cviolating the Constitution continuously\u201d. Lamenting that reserved seats were \u201csnatched\u201d from the SIC, the PTI stalwart vowed that his party would \u201ctake back our right\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Gandapur further said that the PTI would summon its parliamentary meeting and pass a resolution on the matter.<\/p>\n<p>On the other hand, KP Opposition Leader Dr Ibadullah Khan assailed the Swati and CM Gandapur for becoming \u201ctigers\u201d of former premier Imran Khan instead of fulfilling their duties.<\/p>\n<p><figure class=\"media  sm:w-1\/2  w-full  media--right    media--uneven  media--stretch\"><figcaption class=\"media__caption  \">Dr Ibadullah speaks in Peshawar. \u2014 DawnNewsTV<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n<p>The PML-N leader termed it \u201cunfortunate\u201d that Senate elections could not be held in KP and said the provincial government did not follow court orders, the ECP, the Constitution or the law but only the \u201cdirectives\u201d given by Imran.<\/p>\n<p>Speaker Swati said that the opposition parties had not presented the \u201ccorrect facts\u201d before the PHC, adding that they had said an assembly session had been summoned when it had not been.<\/p>\n<p>He reiterated that he could not administer the oaths as ordered by the PHC as a session of the House had not been summoned. Swati said his review petition sought \u201cfurther directives and clarification\u201d on the matter and that he would follow what the PHC orders.<\/p>\n<p>Later today, opposition members filed a petition in the PHC seeking contempt of court proceedings against speaker Swati and KP Deputy Speaker Suraiya Bibi for not implementing its order of administering oaths to MPAs-elect on reserved seats.<\/p>\n<p>The petitioners included PPP\u2019s Shazia Tehmas Khan, Faiza Malik and PML-N\u2019s Shazia Jadoon and Amina Sardar. Filed through Advocate Amir Javed and Saqib Raza, the plea named Swati and Suraiya as respondents in the case.<\/p>\n<p>It urged the court to initiate contempt proceedings against the two, hand them punishment under the Contempt of Court Ordinance 2003 or any other law in the field and convict them under the same.<\/p>\n<h2><a id=\"dar-appointed-as-presiding-officer-for-1st-senate-session\" href=\"#dar-appointed-as-presiding-officer-for-1st-senate-session\" class=\"heading-permalink\" aria-hidden=\"true\" title=\"Permalink\"\/>Dar appointed as presiding officer for 1st Senate session<\/h2>\n<p>In a related development, it emerged that President Asif Ali Zardari, on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif\u2019s advice, has appointed Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar as the presiding officer for the first session of the upper house of Parliament.<\/p>\n<p>According to a summary sent by the PM Office to President Zardari dated March 29, a copy of which is available with <em>Dawn.com<\/em>, the tenures of the Senate chairman and deputy chairman expired on March 11.<\/p>\n<p>The summary quoted the rules of procedure for the Senate: \u201cThe first meeting of the Senate for election of the chairman shall be presided over by the outgoing chairman or, in his absence, by a person nominated by the president, for the purpose, hereinafter in this rule and in rule 10 referred to as the presiding officer; provided that no person shall preside over the meeting for the election in which he himself is a candidate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The PMO summary then nominated Dar to \u201cpreside over the first meeting of the new parliamentary year of the Senate for [the] election of chairman and deputy chairman\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Subsequently, in a notification dated March 30, President Zardari approved PM Shehbaz\u2019s advice.<\/p>\n<h2><a id=\"elections-in-punjab-sindh\" href=\"#elections-in-punjab-sindh\" class=\"heading-permalink\" aria-hidden=\"true\" title=\"Permalink\"\/>Elections in Punjab, Sindh<\/h2>\n<p>In Punjab, voting is being held on two women and technocrats seats each and one minority seat of women in the province.<\/p>\n<p><figure class=\"media  sm:w-full  w-full  media--stretch  \"><figcaption class=\"media__caption  \">Senate polls are under way in the Punjab Assembly on Tuesday. \u2014 ECP via Mian Shoaib<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n<p>Provincial election commissioner Ejaz Anwar Chohan, who would serve as the returning officer (RO), and assembly secretary Aamir Habib reached the assembly to review the polling arrangements. MPA Bilal Yameen from PP-6 cast the first vote.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking to reporters at the assembly, speaker Malik Ahmed Khan expressed hope that the PML-N would win all the vacant seats from Punjab. He further said that coalition partner PPP was supporting his party in the elections.<\/p>\n<p><figure class=\"media  sm:w-1\/2  w-full  media--right  \"><figcaption class=\"media__caption  \">FM Aurangzeb speaks outside Punjab Assembly. \u2014 via Mian Shoaib<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n<p>Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, who the PML-N has nominated for a technocrat seat, also reached the Punjab Assembly. Speaking to reporters, he expressed his \u201cfull optimism\u201d for being successful in the election.<\/p>\n<p>In Sindh, 19 candidates are contesting for 12 seats including seven general seats, two women, two technocrats\/Ulema and one minority seat in the province.<\/p>\n<p>Lawmakers Jam Mehtab Dahar, Ghulam Qadir Chandio, Shaheena Sher Ali, Hallar Wassan, Sumeta Afzal, Heer Soho and Muhammad Bux Mehar were among the 135 votes cast in the assembly as of yet.<\/p>\n<p>Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah expressed the hope for 12 PPP candidates to be elected to the Senate.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking to the media outside the Sindh Assembly, he said that Sarfaraz Rajar withdrew his nomination papers on the party\u2019s directives as the party was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1825141\/ppp-withdraws-man-to-support-independent-vawda-for-senate\">supporting<\/a> independent candidate Faisal Vawda.<\/p>\n<p>In an indirect reference to the PTI, CM Shah said that those who made tall claims about giving surprises in the Senate election finally retreated from the arena and boycotted the election from Sindh.<\/p>\n<p><figure class=\"media  sm:w-full  w-full  media--stretch  \"><figcaption class=\"media__caption  \">Senate polls are under way in the Sindh Assembly on Tuesday. \u2014 via Tahir Siddiqui<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n<h2><a id=\"elected-unopposed\" href=\"#elected-unopposed\" class=\"heading-permalink\" aria-hidden=\"true\" title=\"Permalink\"\/>Elected unopposed<\/h2>\n<p>Those who have made their way to the upper house of parliament unopposed include PML-N\u2019s Syedal Nasir and Shahzeb Durrani, PPP\u2019s Sardar Umar Gorgej, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl\u2019s (JUI-F) Ah\u00ad\u00admed Khan and Awami National Party\u2019s (ANP) Aimal Khan on general seats in Balochistan.<\/p>\n<p>Likewise, National Par\u00adty\u2019s Jan Muhammad, former caretaker prime minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar who contested as an independent, PPP\u2019s Hasana Bano and PML-N\u2019s Rahat Jamali were also elected unopposed.<\/p>\n<p>PPP\u2019s Bilal Ahmed Khan and JUI-F\u2019s Maulana Wasay have won two seats reserved for ulema\/technocrats in Balochistan.<\/p>\n<p>Similarly, seven members from Punjab were am\u00ad\u00adong those who won unopposed in the Senate elections. Elections were to be held on a total of 12 seats in Punjab, out of which seven are general seats and candidates have won all these seven seats unopposed.<\/p>\n<p>They include Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi (independent) who has served as caretaker Punjab chief minister, and PML-N\u2019s Pervaiz Rashid, Ahad Cheema, Talal Chaudhry, and Nasir Mehmood. Other successful candidates are Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen\u2019s (MWM) Raja Nasir Abbas and PTI\u2019s Hamid Khan.<\/p>\n<h2><a id=\"senate-composition\" href=\"#senate-composition\" class=\"heading-permalink\" aria-hidden=\"true\" title=\"Permalink\"\/>Senate composition<\/h2>\n<p>The Senate consists of 96 lawmakers. However, only 48 seats were up for grabs this year \u2014 12 each from Punjab and Sindh, 11 each from KP and Balochistan and two from Islamabad \u2014 as half of the senators are elected at one time, and the other half three years later.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"media  sm:w-1\/2  w-full  media--right  media--embed  media--uneven\">\n<p>    <iframe class=\"nk-iframe\" onload=\"setInterval(()=&gt;{try{this.style.height=this.contentWindow.document.body.scrollHeight+'px';}catch{}}, 100)\" width=\"100%\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" style=\"height:400px;position:relative\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/card\/1824972\" sandbox=\"allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-popups allow-modals allow-forms\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Each senator serves a term of six years, barring resignation, disqualification or other extraordinary circumstances.<\/p>\n<p>The Senate comprises 23 members each from the four federating units and four from Islamabad. The 23 seats allocated to a province comprise 14 general seats, four reserved for women, four for technocrats and one for minority members.<\/p>\n<p>The ECP said that in all, 147 candidates had filed nomination papers for 48 Senate seats, of whom 18 had been elected unopposed. They include seven each against general seats from Punjab and Balochistan and two each against reserved seats for women and technocrats from Balochistan. That means there will be no election in Balochistan.<\/p>\n<p>As many as 11 candidates are vying for seven general seats from Sindh. Three candidates are in the run for two seats res\u00aderved for women, four for two seats reserved for technocrats and two for one seat reserved for minorities from the province.<\/p>\n<p>In Punjab, where all the seven candidates against general seats have already been elected unopposed, three candidates are in the run for two seats reserved for technocrats, four for two reserved seats for wo\u00ad\u00adm\u00ad\u00ad\u00aden, and two candidates for one seat reserved for minorities.<\/p>\n<p>Two candidates each are vying for a general and a technocrat seat from the federal capital.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Elections on 19 vacant Senate seats are currently under way in the National Assembly and provincial legislatures of Punjab and Sindh. However, they were postponed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by the electoral watchdog over the dispute in swearing-in opposition members elected to reserved seats. Polling in the NA and the provincial assemblies in Sindh and Punjab [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":78248,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/i.dawn.com\/large\/2024\/04\/02135631dda4483.png?r=135706","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-78247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pakistan"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=78247"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78247\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/78248"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=78247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=78247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=78247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}