ISLAMABAD: The Senate elections on 11 seats of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa might see a delay after the electoral entity has stated that it shall be “constrained to postpone” the Senate polls on the provincial assembly seats if the speaker KP Assembly does not administer oath to five women lawmakers-elect of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) on the reserved seats.

“In view of the above discussion and; the order of the Hon’ble Peshawar High Court, the Commission in exercise of its powers – directs that in case of failure of the Speaker, Provincial Assembly, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to comply with the directions of the Hon’ble Peshawar High Court referred hereinabove, the Commission shall be constrained to postpone the ensuing Senate election and extend the time for completion of the Senate election to the extent of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provincial Assembly – till the administration of oath to the applicants,” read an order issued by five-member full bench of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday.

The PM-N members Amina Sardar, Faiza Malik, Afsha Hussain, Shazia Jadoon and Jamila Paracha moved the ECP with the petition that they were notified as returned candidates for KPA by the electoral body on March 4 but the speaker KPA did not administer oath to them.

The applicants requested that ECP to postpone the Senate elections till the administration of oath to them by the speaker KPA.

Ironically, PML-N won only six seats in the KPA in February 8 general elections but was allotted eight reserved seats—after the poll body rejected, earlier this month, the petition for the allocation of reserved seats in the Assemblies to Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) that comprises of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-backed candidates having 91 seats in the provincial legislature.

The Senate elections are being held on 48 seats on April 2; 12 seats of Punjab and Sindh each, 11 seats of KP and Balochistan each, and two seats of Islamabad.

Each province has seven general seats and two seats each reserved for women and ulema/technocrats where Senate elections are being held.

In Punjab and Sindh, elections are scheduled on one seat each reserved for non-Muslims.

Islamabad has two seats; general and ulema/technocrats, where elections are scheduled.

Overall, the Senate elections are taking place on 29 general seats, 9 ulema/technocrats seats, eight women seats and two non-Muslim seats, according to ECP.

Previously, the Senate had 104 seats which are being reduced phase-wise to 96 seats—with four Senate seats abolished in 2021 Senate elections—reducing the Senate’s strength to 100 seats— and four seats being abolished in the upcoming Senate elections— in accordance with 25th Amendment that envisages abolition of eight seats of erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) in Senate due to FATA’s merger into KP.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024