Pakistan to Hold Elections for 48 Senate Seats Next Month

Pakistan’s Election Commission has announced upcoming elections for 48 Senate seats. Polling will be held on the second day of April, with nominations being accepted on Friday and Saturday of this week.

This announcement comes as the terms of 52 current senators are set to expire tomorrow. However, elections will not be held for four seats previously reserved for the erstwhile tribal areas. These seats were abolished following the merger of those areas into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province under the 25th Amendment of the Constitution.

Breakdown of Seats:

The upcoming elections will fill the following positions:

• Seven General Seats: One each from Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan.
• Women’s Seats: Two seats for women will be filled from each of the four provinces mentioned above.
• Technocrat/Ulema Seats: Two seats for technocrats or religious scholars will also be filled from each of the four provinces.
• Non-Muslim Seats: Two seats reserved for non-Muslim senators will be filled, one each from Sindh and Punjab.
• Islamabad Capital Territory: Two seats, one general and one technocrat/Ulema, will be filled from the Islamabad Capital Territory.

The Election Commission will officially release the election schedule on Thursday. Candidates can obtain nomination papers from the Election Commission Secretariat in Islamabad or from the provincial election commissioners in Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan. Once obtained, they can submit their nominations to their respective Returning Officers on Friday and Saturday of this week.

Please, subscribe to the YouTube channel of republicpolicy.com