Swearing-in of newly-elected Senators likely on Apr 9

ISLAMABAD: The newly-elected Senators will take oath in a Senate session likely to be convened on April 9, ARY News reported, citing sources.

The election for the Senate chairman and deputy chairman will also be held in the same meeting. A summary to convene the Senate session on April 9 has been prepared, sources privy to the matter said.

While the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) postponed the Senate election in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the ruling coalition secured the majority of seats in the April 2 election.

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.

Read more: Ruling coalition wins big in Senate polls

Last month, at least 18 candidates were elected unopposed as Senators out of a total of 147 aspirants who submitted their nomination papers for the 48 vacant Senate seats.

The final list of candidates from Returning Officers shows that out of 18 elected unopposed, seven including Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi were on Punjab’s general seats.

Sunni Ittehad Council’s Hamid Khan and Raja Nasir Abbas were also elected on general seats.

Similarly, in Balochistan, senators for seven general seats, two women seats, and two Ulema/technocrat seats have won without any opposition.

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam’s Ahmed Khan and ANP’s Aimal Wali Khan, National Party’s Jan Buledi, People’s Party’s Umar Gorgej, PML-N’s Shahzeb Durrani and Syedal Khan Nasir were elected unopposed as members of the Senate.

Former caretaker prime minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar made it to the Senate unopposed as an independent candidate.