PTI clinches six seats, opposition takes five in KP Senate polls

PESHAWAR: The results of the Senate elections for 11 seats from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) emerged on Monday, with the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and opposition parties securing six and five seats, respectively, under a pre-agreed seat-sharing formula.

The polling, held in the KP Assembly, saw lawmakers from all parties cast their votes under tight security arrangements.

Out of the seven general seats, PTI candidates emerged victorious on four, while the opposition secured three. PTI’s Murad Saeed secured most number of votes (26), followed by party colleague Faisal Javed and Mirza Mohammad Afridi as they secured 22 and 21 votes, respectively.

PTI’s Noorul Haq Qadri has also been elected as Senator after securing 21 votes.

The opposition’s victorious candidates included Niaz Ahmad of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Talha Mahmood of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), and Attaul Haq Darvesh of Jamiat Ulema-e-Isam (JUI-F).

Out of the two women’s reserved seats, the PTI and PPP secured one seat each. PTI’s Rubina Naz won convincingly with 89 votes, while the PPP Rubina Khalid secured the second seat with 52 votes.

On the two technocrat seats, PTI’s Azam Swati emerged victorious with 89 votes, while JUI-F’s Dilawar Khan won with 54 votes.

The elections followed a strategic agreement between the ruling PTI, backed by 92 MPAs, and the opposition, supported by 53 MPAs, to avoid a contested race.

This arrangement ensured a smooth electoral process, with four PTI dissident candidates withdrawing to prevent internal competition. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) oversaw the process, with white, green, and pink ballot papers used for general, technocrat, and women’s seats, respectively.

KP Senate elections postponement

The senate elections in the province had been delayed for over a year as the ECP issued an order moments before the polls were to start on April 2, 2024 citing the oath non-administering scandal and a related Peshawar High Court (PHC) judgment.

Voting was initially planned for 48 Senate seats across the country including two Islamabad seats, 12 seats each from Punjab and Sindh, and 11 seats each from KP and Balochistan.

Apart from Khyber Pakhtunkwa, the Senate elections were held in the National Assembly, and all other provincial assemblies.