- Gandapur convinces four PTI Dissidents of withdrawing nominations.
- Khurram Zeeshan remains only dissident candidate in the race.
- A total of 25 candidates are in the race on Senate measurements.
Peshawar: Voting to select 11 senators in the upper house has begun in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assembly on Monday, with the ruling PTI and opposition already agreed on a Senate 6-5 seats sharing the formula.
The vote that began at 1 p.m. 11, continues until 16:00, according to the Election Commission in Pakistan (ECP).
The vote is underway in the Jirga Hall of KP assembly, which has been declared a voting station by the ECP.
Earlier, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur managed to convince four dissident party members to withdraw from the Senate competition and save a “PTI vs. PTI” situation in the election to the upper house.
The Minister of Ministry held extensive conversations with the dissatisfied leaders who went on after midnight.
The swinging ceremony for KP reserved seats MPAS on Sunday has cleared the path for long-delayed Senate choices.
The competition takes place on seven general seats along with two reserved seats each for women and technocrats.
Understanding Pakistan’s Senate Selection
In order to contest a Senate seat, candidates must be Pakistani citizens and registered voters in the province or region they compete from. They must also fulfill the qualifications laid down in accordance with Article 62 of the Constitution, which includes criteria relating to character, integrity and financial status.
Unlike parliamentary elections, where the “first past post” system is used (which means that the candidate with the most votes wins), the Senate election is held through a proportional representation system known as the single -transferable vote. This method is designed to reflect the strength of each party in the respective assembly more accurately.
Under this system, voters rank candidates in order by preference. If a candidate secures more votes than required, excess votes are transferred according to other preferences. If no candidate meets the threshold, it is removed with the fewest votes and their votes are redistributed. This continues until all seats are filled.
How many votes required?
The voting for Senate measurements will take place under the supervision of the Pakistan Election Commission, where each MPA was allowed to cast three votes. A white ballot papers will be used for general seats, green for technocrat seats and pink for women’s seats.
To secure one of the seven general seats, a candidate needs at least 19 votes. For the reserved seats, candidates must secure 49 votes each.
In a rare view of mutual understanding, the provincial government led by PTI and the opposition jointly marked 11 candidates – six supported by the ruling side and five of the opposition parties.
The government is currently enjoying the support of the 92 MPAs in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assembly, while the opposition block has support from 53 members.
The opposition aims to squeeze three of the seven general seats, but needs at least four additional votes to secure the third.
Meanwhile, four out of five PTI -Dissident members who had initially submitted nomination papers have withdrawn from the competition. As a result, Khurram Zeeshan remains the only dissident candidate who is still in the process of a general seat.
According to parliamentary sources, seven panels are formed today for the general seats. Among these, a panel will be unique as it will consist of members of both the government and the opposition. This panel supports the PPP candidate Senator Talha Mahmood. Currently, Talha Mahmood has only 15 votes from the opposition, but with the government giving five additional votes, his success can be secured, according to The news.
The government needs 76 votes to select its four senators. After achieving this, it will have about 16 votes left. Sources say that five of these votes will be given to Talha Mahmood, which may become the biggest turning point for this election.
Sources revealed that four out of the seven panels are four for government candidates and two for the opposition, but Talha Mahmood’s panel will be the only thing formed with the joint cooperation between both government and opposition members. It has also been revealed that members whose loyalty is in doubt will not be included in the Mirza Afridi Panel. Those who oppose Ali Amin Gandapur will be placed in the panel of PTI’s ideological leader Murad Saeed to prevent them from voting for any other candidate.
Candidates in races
A total of 25 candidates dispute the Senate election from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
On the general seats, the government has field four candidates, while three have been nominated by the opposition. For the reserved seats – two for women and two for technocrats – both the government and the opposition have nominated two candidates each.
PTI has appointed Murad Saeed, Faisal Javed, Mirza Mohammad Afridi and Noorul Haq Qadri. Robina Naz and Azam Swati are also during the PTI banner.
Opposition candidates include Niaz Ahmad of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Talha Mahmood of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Atta-Ul-Haq from Jamati Disadvanta-E-Islam (Jui-F) on the general seats.
On the reserved seats, PPP has nominated Rubina Khalid, while Jui-F’s Dilawar Khan is also competing.
