- Gandapur convinces four PTI dissidents to withdraw nominations.
- Khurram Zeeshan remains only dissident candidate in the race.
- A total of 25 candidates are in the race for Senate polls.
PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur finally succeeded in convincing four dissident party members to withdraw from the Senate contest scheduled for today (Monday), salvaging a “PTI-vs-PTi” situation in the election for the Upper House.
The chief minister held extensive talks with the disgruntled leaders, which went on past midnight.
The swearing-in ceremony of KP reserved seats MPAs on Sunday has cleared the path for long-delayed Senate elections.
With the assembly now fully constituted, the stage is set for Senate elections to fill 11 vacant seats.
The contest will take place on seven general seats, alongside two reserved seats each for women and technocrats.
The polling will be held in Jirga Hall of KP Assembly which has been declared polling station by Election Commission.
Understanding Pakistan’s Senate elections
To contest a Senate seat, candidates must be Pakistani citizens, and registered voters of the province or region they are contesting from. They must also meet the qualifications laid out under Article 62 of the Constitution, which includes criteria relating to character, integrity and financial standing.
Unlike general elections, where the “first past the post” system is used (meaning the candidate with the most votes wins), the Senate elections are 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 of preference. If a candidate secures more votes than required, surplus votes are transferred according to second preferences. If no candidate meets the threshold, the one with the fewest votes is eliminated and their votes are redistributed. This continues until all seats are filled.
How many votes required?
Voting for Senate polls will be held under the supervision of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), with each MPA allowed to cast three votes. A white ballot paper 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 will need at least 19 votes. For the reserved seats, candidates must secure 49 votes each.
In a rare display of mutual understanding, the provincial government led by PTI and the opposition have jointly fielded 11 candidates — six backed by the ruling side and five by opposition parties.
The government currently enjoys the support of 92 MPAs in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, while the opposition bloc has the backing of 53 members.
The opposition is aiming to clinch three of the seven general seats but will need at least four additional votes to secure the third one.
Meanwhile, out of five PTI dissident members who had originally filed nomination papers, four have withdrawn from the contest. As a result, Khurram Zishan remains the only dissident candidate still in the running for a general seat.
According to parliamentary sources, seven panels are being formed today for the general seats. Among these, one panel will be unique as it will consist of members from both the government and the opposition. This panel will support PPP candidate Senator Talha Mahmood. Currently, Talha Mahmood has only 15 votes from the opposition, but with the government providing five additional votes, his success can be ensured, according to The News.
The government needs 76 votes to elect its four senators. After achieving this, it will have around 16 votes remaining. Sources say that five of these votes will be given to Talha Mahmood, which could become the biggest turning point of this election.
Sources revealed that out of the seven panels, four are for government candidates and two for the opposition, but Talha Mahmood’s panel will be the only one formed with the joint cooperation of both government and opposition members. It has also been revealed that members whose loyalty is in doubt will not be included in Mirza Afridi’s panel. Those opposing 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 run
A total of 25 candidates are contesting the Senate elections from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), where voting is set to take place today.
On the general seats, the government has fielded 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.
The PTI has named Murad Saeed, Faisal Javed, Mirza Mohammad Afridi, and Noorul Haq Qadri. Robina Naz and Azam Swati are also in the running under the PTI banner.
Opposition candidates include Niaz Ahmad from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Talha Mahmood from the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), and Atta-ul-Haq from Jamiat Ulema-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 contesting.
