The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has concluded the nomination process for the Senate elections, set for April 2, marking the transition to the next phase of election preparations.
A total of 52 seats will be contested, adjusted down to 48 due to the dissolution of four seats designated for the formerly Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) after the 25th constitutional amendment.
The nomination papers are under scrutiny, a process expected to wrap up by March 19, 2024. The final list of candidates will be released on March 26, 2024, eagerly anticipated by all stakeholders.
In Punjab, 28 candidates have filed for 12 Senate seats. The general seats attracted 16 nominations, including prominent figures such as Mohsin Naqvi and Pervaiz Rasheed. The technocrat and women’s seats saw four and five nominations, respectively, while one minority seat received three nominations.
Balochistan has seen 36 candidates step forward for 11 seats, with notable submissions from Anwaarul Haq Kakar and former Senators Kohida Babar and Naseebullah Bazai.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has 13 candidates in the fray. The technocrat and women’s seats drew significant interest, alongside general seats, with figures like Azam Khan Swati and Mehwish Ali Khan participating.
The list of the senate candidates from each province for the Senate elections;
| Province | Seat Type | Number of Candidates | Candidates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Punjab | General (7 seats) | 16 | Mohsin Naqvi, Ejaz Hussain Minhas, Syed Zulfiqar Abbas Bukhari, Ahad Cheema, Pervaiz Rasheed, Nasir Mehmood, Hamid Khan, Raja Nasir Abbas, Irfan Ahmad Khan, Raja Habibur Rehman, Musadaq Masood Malik, Waleed Iqbal, Dr Shahzad Waseem, Talal Chaudhry |
| Punjab | Technocrat (2 seats) | 4 | Mustafa Ramday, Dr Yasmin Rashid, Musaddaq Masood Malik, Muhammad Aurangzaib |
| Punjab | Women (2 seats) | 5 | Faiza Ahmad, Anoshay Rehman, Bushra Anjum Butt, Sanam Javed |
| Balochistan | General (11 seats) | 11 | Anwaarul Haq Kakar, Aaimel Wali Khan, Amanullah Kanrani, Kohida Babar, Naseebullah Bazai, Maulana Abdul Wasi, Jan Buledi, Genghis Jamali, Rahila Durrani, Maulana Abdul Haq Hashmi, Saeedul Hasan Mandokhel |
| Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | Technocrat (2 seats) | 8 | Azam Khan Swati, Qazi Mohammad Anwar Advocate, Waqar Ahmed Qazi, Dr. Hammad Mehmood Cheema, Khalid Masood, Fazal Hanan, Dilawar Khan, Syed Irshad Hussain |
| Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | General (7 seats) | 16 | Irfan Saleem, Muhammad Talha Mehmood, Dilawar Khan, Faisal Javed, Mirza Muhammad Afridi, Azhar Qazi Mashwani, Niaz Ahmed, Waqas Orkazai, Fazl Hanan, Asif Iqbal, Azam Khan Swati, Murad Saeed, Faizur Rehman, Khurram Zeeshan, Ataul Haq, Fida Muhammad |
| Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | Women (2 seats) | 4 | Mehwish Ali Khan, Asha Bano, Rubina Naz, Syeda Tahira Bukhari |
