ISLAMABAD, Feb 23: A tough race for a Senate majority is expected when the country’s four provincial assemblies will elect 80 members of the 100-seat upper house on Monday.
The ruling PML-Q has already taken a lead, winning unopposed six of the eight seats for women and technocrats from its Punjab province stronghold while opposition parties appeared struggling to block what they call manipulations by the government and feared vote-buying by wealthy candidates.
The remaining 12 Senators will be elected on Thursday — four from the federal capital territory of Islamabad by the whole 342-seat National Assembly and eight from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) by 12 National Assembly members from the tribal agencies of that region.
A total of 125 candidates for 80 seats from the provinces were left in the field after 21 others retired from the contest until the deadline of Sunday noon, the Election Commission said.
Some of the prominent retiring candidates were former information minister Javed Jabbar of the National Alliance and Syed Zahid Ali Naqvi of the Muttahida Majlist-i-Amal.
Voting will take place at each provincial assembly under a system or proportional representation in the shadow of a national gloom over the Kohat plane crash.
The PAF plane crash forced Prime Minister Zafarullah Jamali to cut short a nationwide trip designed mainly to garner support for the PML-Q in the Senate election.
But political sources said other senior PML-Q leaders, including party chief ministers of the Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan provinces, had been overseeing the campaign and would monitor Monday’s voting to be held at the four provincial capitals of Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar and Quetta from 9.00am to 4.00pm.
WAVERING VOTES:Political sources said most provincial assembly members were likely to vote at their parties’ calls, the coalition and some wealthy independent candidates would concentrate on winning over wavering opposition members to vote for them in the secret ballot.
Previously, total of 186 candidates were left contest for 80 seats from the four provinces and 12 from Islamabad and FATA seats after 67 withdrew by the deadline of Feb 8 and four candidates for the reserved women’s seats and four for technocrats seats were declared elected unopposed from the Punjab. Most of the retiring candidates were those whose tickets were withdrawn by their respective parties, leaving them with nothing to bank on after promises made to them were broken.
The PML-Q and its allies say they are sure to win a majority in the Senate, whose election will mark the completion of the country’s parliament, whose lower house was elected in the general elections on October 10.
But political sources say the ruling coalition was anxious to get more than its paper-thin majority in the National Assembly that keeps the prime minister dependent on smaller splinter or regional groups against a formidable opposition led by the People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPP) and the Muttahida Majlis-i- Amal (MMA) of six Islamic parties.
The government denies opposition charges that it was manipulating the elections by coercing provincial assembly members to vote for ruling party candidates.
RETIRING CANDIDATES:The Election Commission said six candidates for general seats had retired from the Punjab, leaving 27 for 14 seats to be elected by the 317-seat provincial assembly. They are: Pervaiz Kausar (PPP), Rahat Masood Quddusi, Syed Kabir Ali Attique Riaz Wasti (PML-Q), Syed Sajid Ali Naqvi (MMA), Mohammad Imtiaz Aqdas, Mian Manzoor Ahmad Wattoo (PML-J).
Ten candidates retired from the Sindh province leaving 30 to contest for 14 general and eight reserved seats by the 168-seat provincial assembly.
Those who retired are: Prof Mohammad Saeed Siddiqui, Rana Safdar Ali Khan, Mohammad Arif Khan, Mohammad Numan Saigal (MQM), Javed Jabbar (NA) for general seats, Syed Mehmood Hashmi (NA), Abdul Karim Abid and Mohammad Abbas Kumaili (MMA) for technocrats, Seema Zarin and Laila Latif (MQM).
Three candidates retired from the North West Frontier Province — Qazi Mohammad Anwar (ANP) for general seat, Syed Imtiaz Hussain Gilani (independent) for technocrats and Shaheen Sardar Ali (independent) for women’s seats — leaving 35 to compete for votes in the 124-seat provincial assembly.
Only two candidates retired from Balochistan — Mir Mohammad Yousaf Badini (PML-Q) for general seat and Yasmeen Baloch (BNP) who was disqualified for women’s seat — where 38 candidates will seek votes from the 65-seat provincial assembly.