PPP eyes Senate seat from Punjab despite falling short by 34 votes: sources  

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) is eyeing to get a Senate seat from Punjab Assembly despite falling short of the needed figure by 34 votes, ARY NEWS reported quoting sources.

According to sources having knowledge regarding behind the scene consultation, the PPP has decided to field its Punjab Assembly Parliamentary Leader Hassan Murtaza for the Senate election from the province.

The PPP has only seven seats in the provincial assembly, the sources said adding that the party needed overall 41 votes to get a Senate seat from one of the biggest provincial legislatures of the country in terms of numbers.

“The PPP has started lobbying for Hassan Murtaza and seeks a seat adjustment with the PML-N in return for its seven votes,” they said adding that the party has also approached PML-Q leader and Speaker Punjab Assembly Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi for the support.

It is pertinent to mention here that the Senate election would be held on 48 seats, which would fell vacant in early March 2021.

Out of the total seats, the elections would be held on 11 seats each for Sindh and Punjab legislatures and 12 Senators each will be elected from KP and Balochistan provinces while polls would also be held for two Islamabad seats.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has started preparations to hold Senate elections on 48 seats. The preparations will be concluded in three phases as the schedule of Senate polls is likely to be unveiled in the second week of February, sources said.

Read More: PML-N formally decides to participate in Senate elections

The voting will be conducted on the basis of proportional representation and ‘single transferable vote’.

However, it is still undecided for holding the voting through secret or open ballot until a verdict came out on proceedings underway for the presidential reference.