Polling for Senate elections 2018 concludes
Polling in all four provincial assemblies and the parliament has been started.
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Polling for Senate elections 2018 on Saturday has concluded to elect 52 lawmakers out of 135 candidates who have filed nomination papers.
Polling in all four provincial assemblies and the parliament started at 09:00am and continued until 04:00pm without a halt.
Candidates of ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) contested the polls as independent candidates after top court ruled earlier this year that all tickets issued to candidates for Senate elections by disqualified Nawaz Sharif were annulled.
Rangers and personnel of Frontier Corps (FC) were deployed outside all four provincial assemblies and the parliament to maintain security during voting and election of fresh senators for a term of six years.
Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) gave special powers equivalent of a magistrate to counter any untoward situation.
Code of conduct
According to the code, the members of national and provincial assemblies are required to bring their secretariat cards along in order to cast votes. In addition, mobile phones will not be allowed near polling station. Also, vote is to be cast secretly.
Regarding the ballot papers, according to the code of conduct, the use of fake ballot paper will result in legal consequences. The Returning Officers, who have been given the powers of magistrates, will have the power to take immediate action if anyone is found taking ballot paper out of the station or handing the same over to an unauthorized individual. The RO can also cancel the ballot paper altogether.
Contesting candidates
Ten candidates from Punjab province contested for seven seats in the Senate. Asif Kimani, Shaheen Khalid Butt, Zubair Gul, Haroon Akhtar, Rana Maqbool, Mussadiq Malik and Rana Mehmoodul Hassan are PML-N candidates from Punjab while Shehzad Ali from Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Chaudhry Sarwar of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Kamil Ali Agha of Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid-e-Azam (PML-Q) took part from Punjab.
Hafiz Abdul Karim and finance minister Ishaq Dar, belonging to PML-N, contested the polls for technocrat seats. Also contesting for technocrat seats were PTI’s Malik Asif Javed and PPP’s Nawazish Ali Khan.
Sadia Abbasi of PML-N, Hina Rabbani Khar, Andaleeb Abbasi and Nuzhat Sadiq contested Senate elections 2018 from Punjab for women’s seats.
Kamran Michael and Victor contended for one minority’s seat in Senate from Punjab.
On the other hand, as many as 24 candidates contested polls for four Senate seats reserved for Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). For 12 seats for Sindh, as many as 33 candidates took part.
26 candidates contested the elections for 11 seats of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province and 23 candidates for 11 seats of Balochistan province.
First vote cast in provincial assemblies
The process of polling started after Speaker National Assembly Ayaz Sadiq casts first vote while Member of Provincial Assembly (MPA) Ziaullah Afridi cast first vote at Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly in Peshawar.
Law Minister Rana Sanaullah cast first vote for Senate elections at Punjab Assembly in Lahore. Talking to media, he said that public decisions are not bound to follow dictatorship and any rules, adding that PML-N has not done horse trading for the polls.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) leader Raja Riaz asked for vote from Rana Sanaullah however, he smiled and left the place after inquiring about his health.
Meanwhile, polling in Karachi faced delay as the voters were busy in breakfast arranged by Chief Minister of Sindh (CM) Murad Ali Shah while first vote was cast at 11:15am in Balochistan Assembly.
Opposition will get nothing in today’s polls: Marriyum Aurangzeb
Talking to media, State Minister for Information Marriyum Aurangzeb said people always welcome ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif wherever he goes. She said that an elected PM was removed on the basis of Iqama. No evidence was found against Nawaz Sharif, she added.
Marriyum further predicted that PML-N will emerge as winner in today’s polls.
No compromise on secrecy of vote: EC Secretary
Babar Yaqub, the Secretary of Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), on Saturday morning visited the Parliament House to review arrangements for Senate elections 2018.
Speaking to media, Babar Yaqub said that he has received several complaints that voters are carrying slips in their pockets. He said the returning officers have been strictly ordered to counter such activities.
There will be no compromise on the secrecy of vote, he added.
Opposition accuses Punjab govt of rigging
PTI MPA Shoaib Siddiqui alleged that members of the ruling party led by Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah stormed the polling booth. He claimed that the members are sneaking out ballot papers after casting empty votes in the ballot boxes.
"Election result should be declared null and void if empty slips recovered from ballot boxes," he demanded.
The PTI member said he has also registered protest with the presiding officer.
Imran Khan skips voting in Senate polls
PTI Chief Imran Khan has not cast his vote in Senate polls that are underway across the country.
Talking to media outside the National Assembly (NA), PTI MNA Shafqat Mahmood said that Khan has some other commitments due to which he has skipped the polling process.
PM Abbasi, Chaudhry Nisar cast vote
Prime Minister (PM) Shahid Khaqan Abbasi cast his vote in NA and talked with the MNAs. On the occasion, PM refuted the news about horse-trading during the polls.
Meanwhile, Chaudhry Nisar also reached the assembly and exercised his voting right. He said that government institutions should play their practical role to prevent horse-trading.
The former minister said he has not been part of any Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) parliamentary meeting since four years. Why my absence has created issue this time, he asked.
