Senate elections: PML-N’s sole candidate from capital pulls out

PML-Q’s Mushahid Hussain and PPP’s Osman Saifullah likely to be elected unopposed.

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N’s) sole candidate from Islamabad has withdrawn his candidature for the Senate, paving the way for unopposed election of the PML-Quaid (PML-Q) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) candidates.

Muhammad Omar Mughal, who was contesting from the PML-N, withdrew his nomination papers on Monday, increasing the likelihood that PML-Q’s Mushahid Hussain Syed and PPP’s Osman Saifullah will sail through to the Senate without any opposition.

Officials told The Express Tribune that four candidates were contesting for two Senate seats in Islamabad. Apart from Syed, Saifullah and Mughal, PML-N’s Dr Mazhar Hussain Mirza had also submitted his nomination papers. Mirza’s papers were rejected by the Election Commission for being incomplete.

While PML-N’s Kamran Michael has already been elected from the minority seat in Punjab, Ishaq Dar and PPP’s Aitzaz Ahsan are likely to be elected unopposed on technocrat seats.

Appeals

Meanwhile, appeals regarding objections will be disposed of on February 22 and 23. A final list of candidates will be announced on February 24. Members of the Punjab, Sindh, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) and Balochistan assemblies will elect seven members each to the Senate on general seats, two on seats reserved for women and two on seats reserved for technocrats, including Ulema. Whereas one member each will be elected on the seats reserved for minorities.

Elections are being conducted on 54 seats. Fifty senators will retire in March upon completion of their term of office, with 11 from each province, four from Fata and two from the federal capital.

However, for the first time four senators will be elected on seats for minorities, introduced following the 18th amendment. The newly-elected senators will take oath on March 12.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 21^st, 2012.