Senate and politics

The much-hyped Senate elections are finally over but the political climate still remains intense. The past few days have witnessed a potful of political events as both sides traded barbs over allegations of horse-trading, videos of vote buying and selling surfaced, and the ruling party faced a debacle in the polls.

The Senate elections stirred controversy even before they had commenced as the PTI faced a rift within over the allocation of tickets. Many party lawmakers expressed displeasure and vowed to break rank and vote against the selected candidates. This was also witnessed in Sindh where the PTI won its seats but received fewer votes. The party has decided to take disciplinary action against but faced a reckoning which may be unresolved anytime soon.

Punjab did not witness any of the mayhem as all candidates were already elected unopposed, raising intense speculation of any covert deals. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the PTI performed exceptionally well and received one extra seat. As expected a hung Senate has emerged and the PTI has now emerged as the largest party with eighteen new seats, taking the total number to 26. The PPP is the second largest party as it secured eight new seats while the PML-N lost the most with just five new seats.

The biggest upset came in Islamabad where the government-coalition backed candidate Hafeez Shaikh lost the polls to the joint opposition candidate YousafRazaGilani. The former prime minister pulled a shock win which has raised the government’s claims that money was at play. Shaikh’s future as finance minister also hangs in the balance as he failed to get himself elected and may have to quit the post.

The dust hasn’t settled as the prime minister has decided to seek a vote of confidence from the National Assembly just days after the debacle. This is a clever move as it will reduce the opposition’s pressure from challenging the government’s legitimacy. The opposition wants the prime minister to quit for losing one seat. But the premier has decided not to leave without a fight even if that means sacrificing the coveted seat. This vote of confidence will determine whether Imran Khan will remain as the prime minister.

The focus is now on the vote of confidence which will be followed by the election of Chairman Senate which the opposition has been eyeing by fielding a joint candidate. The government has blamed the ECP for failing to ensure transparency in the polls and has raised the needs for reform and to conduct a thorough inquiry on those who sold their votes and their conscience.