ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – The ruling alliance at the Center on Thursday won by-elections for five out of six Senate seats.
Voting for the six Senate seats in the National Assembly, Sindh and Balochistan assemblies commenced at 9am and concluded at 4pm.
In the National Assembly, PPP's Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani retained the seat he vacated after securing a majority.
Out of the 301 votes cast, Gilani, a joint candidate of the ruling coalition of six parties, secured 204 votes compared to his rival Sunni Ittehad Council's (SIC) Ilyas Mehrban, who obtained only 88 votes.
Nine votes were rejected during the count. Gilani has been speculated for the Senate chairman's slot.
In Sindh, 124 votes were cast for the two vacant general seats of the upper house. PPP's Jam Saifullah Khan Dharejo and Muhammad Aslam Abro were elected to the Senate with 58 and 57 votes respectively, while Nazeerullah and Shazia Sohail of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) received only 4 votes each. One vote was rejected during the count.
These seats became vacant after PPP senators Nisar Ahmed Khuhro and Jam Mehtab Dahar were elected to the Sindh Assembly in the February 8 general elections.
In the Balochistan Assembly, 61 votes were cast for the three general seats of the Senate from the province, with seven candidates contesting for three seats. However, PPP's Abdul Quddus Bizenjo, PML-N's Mir Dostain Khan Domki, and JUI-F's Abdul Shakoor Khan emerged victorious.
Earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and other leaders cast their votes.
The Senate elected six members on the seats vacated by the senators who moved to the National Assembly after winning the Feb 8 general elections.
Among those who vacated their seats were Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani and Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, who have joined the National Assembly following their victory in the general elections.
Similarly, Nisar Ahmed Khuhro and Jam Mehtab Hussain Dahar were elected to the Sindh Assembly, while, Prince Ahmed Umer Ahmedzai and Sarfaraz Ahmed Bugti became members of the Balochistan Assembly.
Contestants
There are seven contestants for three Balochistan seats. Former chief minister Abdul Quddus Bizenjo is the PPP candidate while Mir Dosteen Domki is the PML-N nominee. The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam has nominated Abdul Shakoor while BAP has issued tickets to Kahda Babar and Mubeen Khilji.
Syed Mehmood Shah and Mir Heer Bayar are participating in the Senate election as independents.
Yousuf Raza Gilani of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Chaudhry Ilyas Meharban of the Pakistani Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) are competing in the elections for the seat reserved for the federal capital.
In Sindh, PPP's Jam Saifullah Khan and Aslam Abro, while Sunni Ittehad Council's Nazirullah and Shazia Sohail are candidates.