ECP announces elections schedule for 11 Balochistan seats

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has issued the schedule of Senate elections on Balochistan’s 11 seats going to be held on April 2, ARY News reported.

According to the details, members Balochistan Assembly would elect 11 Senators, seven on general seats, two for women, and as many for technocrats.

As per the announced schedule, candidates may submit their nomination papers on March 15 and 16 to the Returning Officer (RO).

The preliminary list of the nominated candidates will be published on March 17. The Returning Officer would complete the scrutiny of nomination papers by March 19.

As per the schedule, the appeals against the acceptance or rejection of nomination papers may be lodged by March 21. The appellate tribunal will decide on appeals by March 25, 2024.

The revised list of candidates will be published on March 26, and the candidates may withdraw till March 27. The polling will be held on April 2 from 9 am to 4 pm in the Balochistan Assembly.

Earlier in the day, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) won four out of six Senate seats in by-elections.

In the National Assembly, polling was held on one vacant seat of the Senate from Islamabad in which PPP candidate Yousaf Raza Gilani was declared the winner with 204 votes, while Sunni Ittehad Council’s candidate Chaudhary Ilyas Mehrban remained runner-up with 88 votes.

In the Sindh Assembly, PPP candidates Jam Saifullah Dharijo and Aslam Abro were declared winners with 58 and 57 votes, respectively. Both these seats had fallen vacant due to the resignation of Nisar Ahmed Khuhro and Jam Mehtab Dahar of the PPP

In Balochistan, Pakistan People’s Party’s Mir Abdul Qudus Bizenjo was declared the winner with 23 votes. Jamiat Ulema-s-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) Abdul Shakoor and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Mir Dostain Domki also emerged victorious from the Senate’s vacant seats in the province.