A petition challenging Finance Minister Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh’s nomination for a Senate seat was filed with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday. Shahid Orakzai filed the petition, requesting the court to reject the minister’s nomination papers for the Senate polls.
Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Sheikh has submitted his nomination papers for the upcoming Senate election.
Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh and Fauzia Arshad have been selected as the PTI's candidates from Islamabad.https://t.co/l6aUwFM7H5
— Business Recorder (@brecordernews) February 13, 2021
In his petition, he asked whether a federal minister could contest the Senate elections under Article 91 of the Constitution. He said Mr Shaikh’s appointment was also challenged in the Lahore High Court (LHC). On Feb 17, the ECP accepted the finance minister’s nomination papers for a Senate seat from Islamabad.
Notably, Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry has said on Wednesday that Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Sheikh will easily bag his election seat on March 3. “Dr Aamir Liaquat Hussain is the apple of our eyes, will convince him to vote for Abdul Hafeez Sheikh in the upcoming Senate polls”, Fawad Chaudhry said while speaking to private TV channel.
The minister said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has awarded a majority of Senate election tickets to the old party workers. Answering a query about holding Senate polls via open ballot, Chaudhry said that according to the legal situation, the elections should be held through a show of hand.
Fawad said that he is clueless that why the Pakistan People’s Party is ending the political career of former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.
Earlier this week, the ruling party’s MNA from Karachi, Dr Aamir Liaquat Hussian had announced not to vote for Abdul Hafeez Sheikh in the upcoming Senate polls, citing he is not a member of the party.
According to the Election Commission of Pakistan, 170 candidates have submitted their nomination papers for contesting the election on Senate vacant seats.
A total of 52 senators in the house of 104 are set to retire on March 11 on completion of their six-year term. They will also include four of the eight senators from the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata). As the seats representing Fata will not be filled due to the merger of the tribal areas with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in May 2018, the Senate strength will shrink to 100.
Therefore, 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, the election on one minority seat each in KP and Balochistan will also be conducted.
Read more: Why or why not an ‘open ballot’: Insights by experts Senate Elections 2021
Over 65 per cent of the senators who are set to retire on March 11 after completing their six-year constitutional term belong to the opposition parties.
While the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf senators may double in numbers after the electoral exercise to reach 28 from existing 14, the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz is likely to be the biggest loser in terms of representation in the Senate as 17 of its 29 senators will retire next month and the party would be able to retain just five, taking the total strength to 17.
The Pakistan Peoples Party’s strength in the house will slightly come down from 21 to 19. Among the allies of the ruling party, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement will be the only loser, with its party’s strength slipping down from five to three, while another ally, Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), will emerge stronger, with the number of its senators growing from 10 to 13.