Senate Elections 2015: PML-N, PPP almost get equal representation in upper house
There were 132 candidates in the running for 48 Senate seats.
ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) - Lawmakers voted for new senators in parliament`s upper house on Thursday with results showing Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif s ruling PML-N securing 18 seats out of 48, strengthening his grip on power.
The contest was for the 48 out of 104 seats in the upper house. Nawaz Sharif runs a coalition government that holds 59 per cent of the lower house while the main opposition party, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), currently holds a majority in the Senate with 27 seats. PML-N is second largest party with 26 seats while PTI is on third position with six seats.
Total 52 seats were up for grab but four members, two each of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Mutahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) were elected unopposed and polls for four seats in the Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA) were postponed due to legal and constitutional complications and new date for election will be announced later.
There were 132 candidates in the running for 48 Senate seats.
PUNJAB ASSEMBLY RESULTS:
In Punjab Assembly, Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PMLN) secured all seven seats. Raja Zafarul Haq and Professor Sajid Mir of the party won the elections on technocrat seats while Najma Hameed and Ayesha Raza won women reserved seats.
The seven general seats were won by PML-N’s Mushahidullah, Pervaiz Rasheed, Nehal Hashmi, Lt Gen (retd) Abdul Qayyum, Chaudhry Tanvir, Saleem Zia and Ghaus Khan Niazi. The ruling party also secured two seats in the federation.
SINDH ASSEMBLY RESULTS:
In Sindh Assembly, five candidates of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and two Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) members won general seats.
Successful PPP candidates include Rehman Malik, Saleem Mandviwala, Islamuddin Sheikh, Gayan Chand, and Abdul Latif Ansari.
MQM candidates Khushbakht Shujaat and Mian Muhammad Attiq were elected as senators.
Two each of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Mutahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) were elected unopposed technocrat and women reserved seats.
KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA ASSEMBLY RESULTS:
PTI has emerged as the largest party in the Senate elections from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by winning six seats.
Mohsin Aziz, Shibili Faraz and Liaqat Khan Tarakai of the party won the elections on general seats Noman Wazir on technocrat seat, Samina Abid on women reserved seat and John Kainth Williams won on minority seat.
The MPL (N) won two seats.
The winners are Salahuddin Tarmizi, who has been elected on general seat and Muhammad Javed Abbasi on technocrat seat.
The PPP, Jamaat-e-Islami, JUI (F) and ANP secured one seat each.
Khanzada Khan of the PPP, Sirajul Haq of Jamaat-e-Islami and Maulana Attur Rehman of JUI (F) have elected on general seats.
Sitara Ayaz of the ANP has been elected on women reserved seat.
BALOCHISTAN ASSEMBLY RESULTS:
In Balochistan, PML-N, Pashtunkhwa Mili Awami Party and National Party won three seats each whereas JUI and BNP Mengal secured one seat each.
National Party’s Mir Hasil Bizenjo, Muhammad Usman Kakar of Pashtunkhwa MAP, Azam Musa Khel and Maulana Abdul Ghafoor of JUI remained victorious.
PMLN-N candidate Naimatullah Zahri, BNP Mengal member Jahanzeb Jamaldeeni and independent candidate Yousaf Badeeni also won the elections.
Agha SHehbaz Durrani of PML-N and National Party’s Kabir Muhammad Shahi have been elected as senators on technocrat seats.
Gul Bushra of Pashtunkhwa Mili Awami Party and PML-N candidate Kulsoom Parveen secured women reserved seats. Dr Ashok Kumar of the National Party won minority seat.
The newly-elected senators will replace 52 lawmakers who are retiring on March 11 after completing their six-year constitutional term.
The Senate is a continuous body and senators are elected for six years but under the law, half of the 104-member house retire after every three years.
The Senate gives equal representation to all four provinces with including 23 members, eight from FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas) and four from Islamabad.
The seats allocated to a province comprise 14 general seats, four reserved for women, four for technocrats and one for a minority member.
