KARACHI: Pakistan Peoples Party candidate Syed Waqar Mehdi on Tuesday emerged victorious with a clear majority on a Senate seat from Sindh that had fallen vacant after the demise of PPP’s Taj Haider.

Polling for the Senate election was held in the Sindh Assembly, where a total of 149 members exercised their right to vote.

Mr Mehdi secured 111 votes, while his lone opponent Nighat Mirza of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan could get 36 votes in a 168-member Sindh Assembly. Two of the votes were rejected due to wrong marking.

The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf members and Jamaat-i-Islami’s lone member boycotted the polling, held on the premises of the provincial assembly.

According to Sindh Election Commissioner Ijaz Anwar Chohan, the polling process began at 9am and continued uninterrupted till 4pm.

Waqar Mehdi bags 111 votes against MQM-P’s Nighat Mirza, who gets 36 votes; lone JI member abstains from voting

Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah was the last voter who cast his vote, while Local Government Minister Saeed Ghani cast the first vote.

According to Sindh Assembly secretary Muhammad Farooq, 161 members of the Sindh Assembly were entitled to vote in the Senate election.

The total number of PPP members in the Sindh Assembly is 116, MQM, 36 and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf supported members are five, while there is only one member of the Jamaat-i-Islami.

Later, at a press conference the senator-elect along with PPP Sindh president Nisar Ahmed Khuhro said that he would try to live up to the expectations the party leadership had shown in him.

Mr Khuhro said that three of the party members could not cast their votes as they were abroad, while two party votes were rejected.

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari congratulated Mr Mehdi on his victory. He expressed the hope that Mr Mehdi would vigorously represent Sindh in the Senate.

The chief minister also extended his heartfelt congratulations to Mr Mehdi on being elected as a Senator.

MQM-P flays PTI

Leader of the Opposition in the Sindh Assembly Ali Khurshidi of the MQM-P criticised the PTI for the boycott of the Senate election. “By staying away from the elections today, the PTI has proved that it is an ally of the PPP,” he alleged.

The opposition leader said that the silence in politics was half-consent.

Published in Dawn, May 7th, 2025