The Senate elections in Sindh and Balochistan are likely to be relatively placid; in Punjab, the same cannot be said.
For 12 Senate seats in Sindh, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is optimistic that all the candidates from the party and its coalition partners will be unopposed, which will strengthen the democratic system in the country.
Sources said that, according to a formula agreed by the coalition partners, the PPP will get eight seats out of 12, while three candidates from the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and one candidate from Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F) will be successful.
Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, who was not recommended by the PPP due to internal pressure, submitted his form on Tuesday for a technocrat seat, while a prominent figure from the MQM, Syed Mustafa Kamal, also submitted his nomination papers for a general seat.
Mudasir Sehar and Shahida Rehmani are PPP’s candidates for reserved seats for women, while Hari Ram and Haresh Parwani are candidates for minority seats in the province.
A total of four PPP senators will be retiring, but with the support of coalition partners and its strength in the provincial assembly, the party’s candidates in the upper house from Sindh are likely to jump to eight.
The Pakistan Muslim League Quaid (PML-Q) has not submitted nomination papers for the upper house from Sindh due to an understanding between the two parties’ top leadership. Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah held a joint meeting of the nominated candidates from PPP and PML-Q at the CM House on Tuesday.
Punjab elections unlikely to be unopposed
PML-Q MPA Sardar Mohsin Khan Leghari is likely to upset the bargaining of the three major political parties over 12 seats in the Senate for Punjab, as he, along with a total of 22 candidates belonging to various political parties, have filed their nomination papers.
Of the total 12 seats up for grabs, seven are general, two each for technocrats and women, with one for a non-Muslim.
According to a deal which has been struck among three major political parties for unopposed Senate elections, the PML-N, keeping in view its numerical strength in the Punjab Assembly (PA) has been given a total of seven seats, comprising four general, and one each for a technocrat, woman and non-Muslim. The PPP has been given four seats while PML-Q has been given only one general seat.
For the two technocrat seats PML-N Senator Ishaq Dar and PPP lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan will win their seats unopposed as nobody else has filed nomination papers for these.
The PML-Q’s Mohsin Leghari reiterated his will to upset the bargaining of the three major political parties. “The basic principle of democracy is to give voters the choice to choose the candidate they want to represent them,” Leghari said, adding: “If there is not choice then it’s a clear negation of democracy.”
He may have a point about this being an underhand process. Interestingly, of the seven PML-N candidates, two were part of the interviewing committee.
51 candidates in Balochistan
Some 51 candidates, including sitting provincial ministers, have submitted nomination papers to contest the upcoming Senate elections from Balochistan, while three political parties have formed an alliance to field joint candidates for the upper house.
According to the Election Commission Balochistan, 121 nomination forms were obtained from the office. A total of 51 candidates had submitted their nomination papers till Tuesday. Provincial chief of PPP Mir Sadiq Umrani, addressing a news conference, said the PPP will be able to secure six seats and 26 MPAs assured their support.
(with additional reporting by shehzad baloch in Quetta)
Published in The Express Tribune, February 15th, 2012.
COMMENTS (2)
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I don't think that the new incoming Senators of coalition partners will be able to do much in the Senate, if PPP lose majority of seats in the next general elections in the National as well as in the Provincial Assemblies, the possibility of which now are 98%.
The next winning political party will be able to get their Senators elected after three years, when some of the Senators will be completing their term after six years.
I don't think that in the next general elections, any single political will be having majority in the National Assembly as well as in the Provincial Assemblies and the Senate.
This means that the next government will also be a coalition government, as no single political party will be able to win with two-third of majority.
Senate candidates should only be chosen through voting like a democratic process.