ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehrek-e-Insaf (PTI) has emerged as the largest party in the Senate after winning 18 seats in the elections followed by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) with eight seats.
The ruling party now had 26 seats in the Upper House of Parliament. However, it faced an upset in Islamabad where the general seat was won PPP’s Yousuf Raza Gillani who defeated PTI’s Hafeez Shaikh.
The elections were 37 vacant seats of the Senate with 11 senators already elected unopposed from Punjab. The polling was held for 12 seats each in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 11 in Sindh, and two in the federal capital.
The lawmaker from the three provincial assemblies cast their vote for the candidates fielded from Balochistan, KP and Sindh, while MNAs voted for the representatives from the federal capital.
Balochistan Assembly
All 65 members cast their votes in the Balochistan Assembly. The government and its allies have secured seven out of the 12 total seats – one general, one woman, one technocrat and one minority. Meanwhile, the opposition has obtained five seats including two general, one women and one technocrat.
General
Of the total seven candidates that won general seats, four were backed by the government, two from the opposition. Independent candidate Abdul Qadir who backed jointly by the BAP and PTI also won the seat.
ANP’s Arbab Muhammad Umar Farooq, and BAP’s Ahmed Kakar, Sarfaraz Ahmed Bugti and Prince Ahmed Umar Ahmedzai have each been elected to a general seat. JUI-F’s Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri and BNP’s Muhammad Qasim were the candidates supported by the government that won a general seat b
Women and Minority
Of the two women’s seats, BAP candidate Samina Mumtaz who was backed by the government won one. Independent candidate Nasima Ahsan who joined ANP has the support from the opposition. BAP candidate Dhanesh Kumar won the minority seat.
Technocrat
Of the two technocrat seats, JUI-F’s Kamran Murtaza, an opposition-backed candidate emerged victorious and BAP’s Saeed Ahmed Hashmi secured the other.
Sindh Assembly
In the Sindh Assembly, 167 out of 168 members cast their votes with Jamaat-e-Islami member Abdul Rashid absent. Out of the 167 ballot papers cast, four were rejected.
The race between candidates was for a total of eleven seats. PPP bagged seven — five general, one women and one technocrat. The government won four — two general, one women and one technocrat.
General
PPP’s Saleem Mandviwalla, Sherry Rehman, Taj Haider, Shahadat Aiwan, and Jam Mehtab Dhar have been elected to general seats. Among the government candidates PTI’s Faisal Vawda won one seat while its allied party MQM’s Faisal Sabzwari won the other.
Women
PPP’s Palwasha Khan won one seat with 60 votes. The party’s other candidate Rukhshana Shah secured 46 votes. MQM candidate Khalida Ateeb emerged won the second seat obtaining eight votes less from the opposition side but managing to secured 57 votes.
Technocrat
Of the two technocrat seats, PPP’s Farooq H Naek won one whereas PTI’s Saifullah Abro won the other with 57 votes. PPP candidates got a total of 104 votes, with Naek getting 61 and Kareem Khwaja getting 43. The PTI allied parties got eight votes fewer than the Sindh government candidates.
KP Assembly
In the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, all 145 votes by members were cast. The polling time was extended due to delays.
General
PTI’s Shibli Faraz, Mohsin Aziz, Zeeshan Khanzada, Faisal Saleem and Liaqat Khan Tarakai have won a general seat each. ANP’s Hidayatullah Khan also one won seat, besides JUI-F’s Atta-ur-Rehman.
Technocrat
PTI won all seats for technocrat category with candidates Dost Muhammad Mehsood and Muhammad Humayun Khan taking the two seats up for grabs. PPP’s Farhatullah Babar was dealt a defeat in this category.
Women and Minority
Of the two women seats, PTI’s Sania Nishtar won one, with 56 votes, while another candidate from the party, Falak Naz obtained the other with 51 votes. PTI minority candidate Gurdeep Singh won the minority seat.
