According to the ECP, four senators will be elected on general seats from FATA, 11 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan each, and 12 each from Sindh and Punjab including seven on general seats, two on technocrats' seats, two on women's seats and one on a minorities' seat. The ECP has also issued the nomination papers and said that schedule for the seats reserved for Islamabad and FATA will be announced later. Meanwhile, the ECP also de-notified Nehal Hashmi from the Upper House of Parliament following his disqualification on Thursday from Supreme Court in a contempt of court case.
The apex court announced in its verdict that Hashmi stands disqualified from holding public office for a period of five years under Article 63 (1)(g) of the constitution. The ECP sources told Business Recorder that a by-election on the seat will be held before the scheduled March 3 Senate elections. Hashmi was elected to the Senate in 2015 for a period of six years.
A total of 52 senators are set to complete their six-year term on March 11. The Senate consists of a total of 104 members - 23 each from the four provinces, eight from FATA and four from Islamabad. The 23 seats of each province break down into 14 general seats, four each for women and technocrats and one for minorities.
While the total term for a senator is six years, half of the Senate retires after every three years. The Senate elections depend on the party positions in the provincial assemblies as well as the National Assembly. Four of the provincial assemblies vote for the candidates nominated by their respective parties whereas the FATA senators are elected by the MNAs from the tribal areas and the Islamabad senators by the National Assembly.
A person seeking election to the Senate should not be less than 30 years of age and should be registered as a voter in an area or province from where he or she seeks election and should meet other qualifications prescribed under Article 62 of the Constitution. Senate Chairman Mian Raza Rabbani, Opposition Leader Aitzaz Ahsan, Taj Haider and Farhatullah Babar are among 18 of 26 Pakistan Peoples Party senators who will be retiring.
From the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, nine of its 27 senators will be retiring this year. They include former finance minister Ishaq Dar, who has been in London on medical grounds since October last year while a corruption case is under way against him in the accountability court. The Awami National Party will lose five of its six senators including Ilyas Bilour and Karachi-based Shahi Syed.
Similarly, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan will bid farewell to four of its eight senators, including Colonel Tahir Mashhadi (retd), Nasreen Jalil and Dr Farogh Naseem. The four PML-Quaid senators retiring this year include Mushahid Hussain Sayed - chairman of the Senate Defence Committee. The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl will see three of its five senators retiring on March 11.
Azam Swati of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is the party's only senator who will be retiring as he was elected in May 2015 on a seat which fell vacant after the death of Awami National Party Senator Azam Khan Hoti.