Senate election on 3rd March
20 January, 2015
ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Monday 19,January,2015 announced the schedule for elections on half the seats of the Senate, which are going to be held on March 3.
Half of the Senate seats will become vacant after 52 members of the 104-member Upper House complete their six-year term. All political parties have started to sketch up a strategy on the upcoming Senate elections. They will start seeking applications from the candidates in the last week of January.
According to the ECP schedule, polling will be held on March 3 to fill 52 Senate seats which will become vacant on March 11. A senior official of ECP said that elections will be held for seven general and four reserved seats from each province - including two each for women and technocrats, four seats from FATA, two from Islamabad and two minority seats. He said nomination papers for the elections have been printed and ballot papers will be printed after publication of the final list of candidates.
The officail said that ECP has asked political parties to file their nomination papers on February 12-13 while the scrutiny of the papers will be done on February 16-17. The candidates can withdraw their nominations till February 25. The final list of candidates will be issued on February 25 2015.
The electoral process for federal capital and FATA will take place in the National Assembly whereas the vacant seats of Senate in provinces will be filled with voting at respective provincial assemblies.
The senate members who are retiring in coming March are from the Pakistan People Party (PPP), eight from the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), six from the Awami National Party (ANP), three each from the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F), two from the Balochistan National Party-Awami (BNP-A) and one each from the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) and the National Party (NP). There are also six independent senators, including four from FATA.
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