Ruling coalition wins big in Senate polls

The ruling coalition secured the majority of Senate seats on Tuesday, while elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were postponed over the “denial” of oath-taking to the lawmakers elected on reserved seats.

Out of the 19 Senate seats up for grabs today, the PML-N won six seats, the PPP won 11 while the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) bagged one seat, unofficial results showed.

The PML-N’s numbers in the 96-member House have now risen to 19 while the PPP’s have risen to 24.

Parliament House Islamabad: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif casts his vote at the Senate elections. pic.twitter.com/Nvx6XNNgjj

— Government of Pakistan (@GovtofPakistan) April 2, 2024

Overall 356 lawmakers cast their votes in the upper house of parliament’s elections, whereas, votes of five NA lawmakers were rejected.

Islamabad

Foreign Minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) candidate Ishaq Dar has been elected Senator on a technocrat senatorial seat with 224 votes while Sunni Ittehad Council’s (SIC) Raja Ansar received 81 votes. According to sources, five votes were also rejected.

With 224 votes, Rana Mahmoodul Hasan of the Pakistan People’s Party was also elected as a senator. Farzand Hussain, his opponent of the SIC, received 79 votes.

Punjab

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) bagged nine out of 12 Senate seats from Punjab, sweeping the elections conducted for two seats each for women and technocrats and for one minority.

The polling was held to elect five senators on reserved seats for women, technocrats and one minority as seven candidates had already been returned unopposed.

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and Petroleum Minister Musadiq Malik were elected to the two technocrat seats with 128 and 121 votes, respectively.

PML-N candidates Anusha Rehman and Bushra Anjum won the two seats set aside for women in Punjab. Sunni Ittehad Council’s Yasmeen Rashid and Sanam Javed could get 106 and 102 votes respectively.

PML-N’s Tahir Khalil Sindhu has been elected senator on the minority seat.

Earlier, seven candidates for Senate’s general seats from Punjab were elected unopposed including Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi.

Sindh

The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) bagged 10 out of 12 seats in the Senate elections from Sindh with Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan and independent candidate Faisal Vawda winning a seat each.

As per the results announced by the returning officers, the PPP secured five general, two technocrats, one minority, and two women seats.

PPP’s Ashraf Ali Jatoi, Dost Ali Jaisar, Kazim Ali Shah, Masroor Hassan, and Nadeem Bhutto, MQM-P’s Aamir Chishtiand independent candidate Faisal Vawda were elected on general seats.

The PPP also bagged both seats of technocrats as its candidates Sarmad Ali and Zameer Ghamro emerged victorious. Poonjo Bheel of the PPP won the minority seat, while Rubina Qaimkhani and Quratul Ain Marri were elected to the two women’s seats.