PTI finalises two more candidates for Senate elections

ISLAMABAD: Following an initial consultation, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has finalised two more names of candidates to contest the upcoming Senate elections on April 2, ARY News reported on Wednesday, citing sources.

Sources within PTI told ARY News that Dr Zulfi Bukhari and Hamid Khan, one of the founding members of the party, are among Senate hopefuls from Islamabad.

Meanwhile, PTI already awarded ticket to Ilyas Meharban from Islamabad to contest the Senate polls.

Two days earlier, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) announced on Monday that elections for 48 Senate seats would take place on April 2, following the expiration of the six-year term for the current Senators.

52 seats in the upper house of parliament will become vacant, but elections will only be held for 48 senators. The reduction is due to the abolition of four reserved seats for the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) following the 25th constitutional amendment.

The official schedule for the elections is set to be issued on March 14, according to the electoral watchdog. The polling will include seven general seats, two for women, two for technocrats (including Ulema), and one for non-Muslims from Sindh and Punjab.

Furthermore, lawmakers from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) and Balochistan will participate in electing members for seven general seats, two women, and two technocrats (including Ulema).

Members of the National Assembly will elect one general seat and one technocrat seat (including Ulema) from the federal capital.

In preparation for the upcoming elections, the ECP appointed returning officers (ROs) for Islamabad and the four provinces.

Saeed Gul, the Director General Training of the ECP, will serve as the Returning Officer in the federal capital.

Meanwhile, Aijaz Anwar Chohan, Sharifullah, Shamshad Khan, and Muhammad Farid Afridi will act as returning officers in Punjab, Sindh, KP, and Balochistan, respectively.

In addition, by-elections for six vacant Senate seats are scheduled for Thursday, March 14. The polling will take place at the upper house of parliament, as well as at the Sindh and Balochistan assemblies in Karachi and Quetta.