ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has announced to hold the election for Senate on March 3, 2021.
The polls will be held on 48 seats of the Upper House. The candidates can submit their nomination papers from February 12-13 while the nominated candidates will be announced on Sunday February 14.
The scrutiny of nomination papers will be held from February 15-16. The appeals against acceptance or rejection of nominations will be received on 17 and 18th February. These appeals will be disposed of by the tribunal on 19th and 20th of this month.
The final list of the contestant will be issued later on February 21, while the candidates can withdraw their nomination papers on February 22. The polling will be held on 3rd March from 9AM to 5PM in the Parliament House and all provincial assemblies without any break.
As many as 52 senators are set to retire — 50 percent of the 104-member house — on March 11 after completing their six-year tenure. There will be no polling for the four seats of the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) after its merger with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
The polling will be held to elect 48 senators — 12 each from KP and Balochistan, 11 each from Punjab and Sindh and two from Islamabad. Polling will be held to elect seven members on general seats, two women and two technocrats in the four provinces. Besides this, the election on one minority seat each in KP and Balochistan will also be conducted.
The ECP has set up digital facilitation centres at the election commission secretariat and four provincial election commission offices to provide necessary facilities to the returning officers and improve the system of scrutiny for nomination papers of candidates.
Under this system, the data of candidates will be checked with the help of online technology from the Ministry of Home Affairs, NADRA, NAB, FBR and SBP. The information provided by these agencies will be made available to all returning officers.
The ECP has asked chairman NAB, NADRA, FBR, SBP and Home Ministry for necessary cooperation. In this regard, letters have been sent by the ECP secretary to the heads of all the institutions concerned, requesting that each institution to nominate focal persons (elected representatives) and inform the election commission. The step has been taken to complete the Senate election process in a smooth and transparent manner.
