The ruling alliance is set to grab the most seats in today’s by-election being held on six Senate seats that fell vacant from Sindh, Balochistan and Islamabad. These six seats, voting for which has started on Thursday, had fallen vacant under Article 223 of the Constitution which prohibits lawmakers from holding dual membership. The sub-section 4 of the article states: “Subject to clause (2) if a member of either House or of a Provincial Assembly becomes a candidate for a second sear which, in accordance with clause (1), he may not hold concurrently with his first seat, then his first seat shall become vacant as soon as he is elected to the second seat.” Sindh The polling to fill two vacant general seats in the upper house from Sindh has began at Sindh Assembly building at 9am and will continue till 4pm where Pakistan Peoples Party has fielded Jam Saifullah Khan Dharejo and Muhammad Aslam Abro against Nazeerullah and Shazia Sohail of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC). The by-polls are being held to fill the Sindh-based seats in the Senate that became vacant after the PPP senators Nisar Ahmed Khuhro and Jam Mehtab Dahar became members of the Sindh Assembly in the February 8 general elections. Provincial Election Commissioner, Sindh, Sharifullah, has been acting as the returning officer for the by-election. Balochistan Meanwhile, a total of nine candidates have been in the running for three general seats of the Senate from Balochistan on which the by-polls are underway. These candidates are Syed Mahmood Shah (Independent), Shakeel Ahmed Durrani (PPP), Tariq Hussain (PPP), Abdul Shakoor Khan (Independent), Abdul Qudoos (PPP), Kauda Babar (Balochistan Awami Party), Muhammad Mobeen Khilji (Balochistan Awami Party), Mir Hair Bayar Khan Domki (Independent) and Mir Dostain Khan Domki (PML-N). These three Senate seats became vacant after senators Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, Sarfraz Ahmed Bugti and Prince Ahmad Umar Ahmadzai became members of the National and Balochistan assemblies in the February 8 general elections. Haideri belongs to Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), while Bugti and Ahmadzai were elected on Balochistan Awami Party tickets to the senate. Bugti, who is now the chief minister of the province, has jumped ship and joined the PPP. A day earlier, the leaders of JUI-F and PPP held talks and decided to support each other’s candidates in the Senate by-polls. The PPP sought JUI-F’s support for its candidate from Islamabad while JUI-F sought backing for its candidate in the Senate by-polls in Balochistan. Independent candidate Abdul Shakoor Khan in the Balochistan by-polls is backed by the JUI-F. The polling for Senate by-polls is underway at the Balochistan Assembly building since 9am and will continue till 4pm. Islamabad Meanwhile, the National Assembly will elect one senator from Islamabad today (Thursday) on a general seat that fell vacant after PPP Senator Syed Yousuf Raza Gillani was elected as MNA in the Feb 8 elections. PPP’s Gillani is a joint candidate of the ruling coalition of six parties on the seat and against him, the SIC has fielded Ilyas Mehrban — a veteran PTI member. The former premier is also being tipped for the Senate chairman’s slot.
Voting begins for 6 vacant Senate seats
