The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has announced April 2 as the date for holding Senate elections in order to fill 48 vacant seats. This decision comes as the six-year term of the incumbent Senators is set to expire on Tuesday, leaving 52 seats in the upper house of parliament vacant.
The elections will be conducted to elect 48 senators, as four reserved seats for the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) were abolished following the 25th Constitutional amendment.
According to the ECP, an official schedule for the Senate elections will be issued on March 14.
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Polling will take place to elect members against various categories of seats, including general seats, seats for women, seats for technocrats (including Ulema), and seats for non-Muslims from Sindh and Punjab. Lawmakers from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan will also participate in the elections to elect members for their respective provinces.
Additionally, members of the National Assembly will elect representatives for one general seat and one seat for technocrats (including Ulema) from the federal capital.
In preparation for the elections, the ECP has appointed returning officers (ROs) in Islamabad and the four provinces. ECP Director General Training Saeed Gul has been appointed as the Returning Officer (RO) for the federal capital, while provincial election commissioners Aijaz Anwar Chohan, Sharifullah, Shamshad Khan, and Muhammad Farid Afridi will serve as returning officers in Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan, respectively.