| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
48 of the 100 seats in the Senate of Pakistan 51 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
The 2021 Pakistani Senate election was held on 3 March 2021. The Election commission of Pakistan announced the election schedule on 11 February 2021. 52 of the 104 Senators had retired on 7 February 2021. [1] After the merger of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas with Khyber Pakhtunkhawa, FATA seats were abolished and there was no election on 4 of the 8 seats. The rest of the 4 seats will be abolished in 2024. [2] Official results of the Senate Elections were announced by the Election Commission of Pakistan on 10 March 2021. [3]
2021 election was being conducted amidst an anti-government drive by a coalition of opposition parties, the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM). The PDM leaders had earlier threatened to resign en masse from the provincial and national assemblies, and refused to take part in the Senate elections but later relented. [4] [5]
In the lead up to the elections much of the debate surrounded the secrecy of ballot that is observed in the Senate elections, which has always led to allegations of vote trading. [6] The government moved a conditional presidential ordinance and later sought the opinion of the Supreme Court of Pakistan to conduct the elections via open ballot. [7] [8] The Supreme Court, in its judgment, maintained that the elections should by held via secret ballot but their secrecy is not absolute and that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) should employ the latest technology to ensure "that the election is conducted honestly, justly, fairly and in accordance with law and that corrupt practices are guarded against." [9] ECP, in response to the Court's directives, stated that this year's elections will be conducted as per past practice due to the dearth of time. [10]
A night before the election, a video emerged that showed Ali Haider Gillani, son of Yousaf Raza Gillani, lobbying for his father's election bid and showing three government lawmakers how to void their votes. [11] An audio recording also surfaced, with Nasir Hussain Shah giving assurances to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf lawmakers who had allegedly sold their votes. [12]
Overall, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) became the largest party in the Senate as it won the most seats, securing 18 of the 48 senate seats up for election; of which 10 came from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 5 from Punjab, 2 from Sindh, and one from Islamabad. Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) came in second by winning 8 seats, of which 7 were won in Sindh and one in Islamabad. Balochistan Awami Party was declared victorious on 6 seats - all from Balochistan. Finally, the Pakistan Muslim League (N) lost its majority in the Senate as it could only manage 5 seats from Punjab against 16 retiring senators. [13]
After the results were declared, much of the focus was on the Islamabad General seat won by PPP's Yousaf Raza Gillani where he beat PTI's incumbent finance minister, Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, by a margin of 5 votes. [14] Although, Gillani was the opposition's joint candidate, he still did not have the required majority unless those on the treasury benches voted for him or intentionally voided their votes in the secret ballot. This fact, coupled with the leaked video of his son, led to PTI petitioning the Election Commission of Pakistan against his victory. [15]
Meanwhile, Gurdeep Singh of the PTI, became the first Sikh to be elected to the Senate of Pakistan as he won the minority seat from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. [16]
Abdul Qadir, who had won as an Independent from Balochistan, later joined the PTI, increasing the tally of the party to 26 in the Senate. [17]
Parties | Votes | % | Seats | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total in 2018 | Up | Won | Total after | +/- | ||||||||||
G | W | T | M | Total | ||||||||||
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) | 12 | 8 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 18 | 25 | +13 | |||||
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) | 21 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 21 | – | |||||
Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML-N) | 29 | 16 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 18 | –11 | |||||
Balochistan Awami Party | 10 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 13 | +3 | |||||
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5 | +1 | |||||
Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | –2 | |||||
Awami National Party | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | +1 | |||||
National Party (NP) | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | –3 | |||||
Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | –1 | |||||
Jamaat-e-Islami | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | –1 | |||||
Balochistan National Party | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | – | |||||
Pakistan Muslim League (F) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | – | |||||
Pakistan Muslim League (Q) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | +1 | |||||
Independents | 10 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | –5 | |||||
Valid votes | ||||||||||||||
Blank and invalid | ||||||||||||||
Total | 100 | 104 | 52 | 29 | 9 | 8 | 2 | 48 | 100 | -4 | ||||
Abstentions | ||||||||||||||
Registered voters / Turnout |
The successful candidates for each of the seats were declared on 10 March 2021. [22]
Punjab | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Seat Type | Winners | ||||||
General | Saifullah Niazi (PTI) | Aon Abbas Bappi (PTI) | Ejaz Chaudhary (PTI) | Afnan Ullah Khan (PML-N) | Sajid Mir (PML-N) | Irfan-ul-Haq Siddiqui (PML-N) | Kamil Ali Agha (PML-Q) |
Technocrat | Syed Ali Zafar (PTI) | Azam Nazeer Tarar (PML-N) | |||||
Women | Zarqa Taimur (PTI) | Saadia Abbasi (PML-N) |
Sindh | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Seat Type | Winners | ||||||
General | Sherry Rehman (PPP) | Saleem Mandviwalla (PPP) | Ali Shah Jamote (PPP) | Taj Haider (PPP) | Shahadat Awan (PPP) | Faisal Vawda (PTI) | Faisal Subzwari (MQM-P) |
Technocrat | Farooq Naek (PPP) | Saifullah Abro (PTI) | |||||
Women | Palwasha Mohammad Zai Khan (PPP) | Khalida Ateeb (MQM-P) |
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Seat Type | Winners | ||||||
General | Mohsin Aziz (PTI) | Liaqat Khan Tarakai (PTI) | Shibli Faraz (PTI) | Faisal Saleem Rahman (PTI) | Zeeshan Khanzada (PTI) | Hidayat Ullah Khan ANP | Atta-ur-Rehman (JUI-F) |
Technocrat | Dost Muhammad Khan (PTI) | Muhammad Hamayun Mohmand (PTI) | |||||
Women | Sania Nishtar (PTI) | Falak Naz (PTI) | |||||
Minority | Gurdeep Singh (PTI) |
Balochistan | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Seat Type | Winners | ||||||
General | Mohammad Abdul Qadir (Independent) | Prince Ahmed Umer Ahmedzai (BAP) | Sarfraz Bugti (BAP) | Manzoor Ahmed Kakar (BAP) | Umer Farooq (ANP) | Abdul Ghafoor Haideri (JUI-F) | Muhammad Qasim (NP) |
Technocrat | Saeed Ahmed Hashmi (BAP) | Kamran Murtaza (JUI-F) | |||||
Women | Samina Mumtaz Zehri (BAP) | Naseema Ehsan (Independent) | |||||
Minority | Danesh Kumar (BAP) |
ICT | |
---|---|
Seat Type | Winners |
General | Yousaf Raza Gillani (PPP) |
Women | Fawzia Arshad (PTI) |
Two candidates apiece, from the opposition and treasury benches, contested the elections on 12 March 2021. Treasury candidates, Sadiq Sanjrani and Mirza Muhammad Afridi, won the elections for their respective seats. [23]
Candidate | Contesting for | Party | Votes Obtained | Supported by |
---|---|---|---|---|
Sadiq Sanjrani | Chairmanship | BAP | 48 | Treasury Benches |
Mirza Muhammad Afridi | Deputy Chairmanship | PTI | 54 | |
Yousaf Raza Gillani | Chairmanship | PPP | 42 | Opposition Benches |
Abdul Ghafoor Haideri | Deputy Chairmanship | JUI-F | 44 |
General elections were held in Pakistan on Wednesday, 25 July 2018 to elect the members of 15th National Assembly and the four Provincial Assemblies. The three major parties were Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) led by Imran Khan, the Pakistan Muslim League led by Shehbaz Sharif and the Pakistan Peoples Party led by Bilawal Bhutto. The PTI won the most seats in the National Assembly but fell short of a majority; the party subsequently formed a coalition government with several smaller parties. At the provincial level, the PTI remained the largest party in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP); the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) retained its dominance in Sindh and the newly formed Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) emerged as the largest party in Balochistan. In Punjab, the result was a hung parliament with the Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML-N) winning the most seats. However, after several independents MPAs joined the PTI, the latter became the largest party and was able to form a government.
Khayal or Khial Zaman Orakzai was a Pakistani businessman and politician who was a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from August 2018 until his death in February 2022. Previously, he was a member of the National Assembly from June 2013 to May 2018.
Aijaz Hussain Jakhrani is a Pakistani politician who had been a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan, from 2002 to May 2018. He is associated with the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) from the Constituency of Jacobabad of the 14th Assembly.
Senate elections were held in Pakistan on 5 March 2015 to elect the replacements for 52 retiring senators. Those retiring include chairman Nayyar Hussain Bukhari and deputy chairman Sabir Ali Baloch of the upper house. Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), the majority party in Senate, would lose 21 members, followed by Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz would lose 9 and Awami National Party would lose 6 members.
The triennial Senate Electionsof Pakistan were held on 3 March 2018 to replace 52 retiring senators - half of the Senate's strength - with the winning candidates serving six-year terms. Overall, Pakistan Muslim League (N) came out as the largest party, followed by the Pakistan Peoples Party and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. The results of these elections were steeped in controversy due to rampant allegations of horse trading and vote-buying, which lead to the Prime Minister and opposition leader Imran Khan calling for reforms. Prior to this election, PML (N) candidates were declared as independents by the Election Commission of Pakistan owing to a Supreme Court judgment.
Lal Muhammad Khan is a Pakistani politician who had been a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from 2008 to 2013. He had been a member of the Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from 1988 to 1990.
Noor-ul-Haq Qadri is a Pakistani politician who was Federal Minister for Religious Affairs and Inter-faith Harmony. He had been a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from August 2018 till January 2023. Previously, he was a member of the National Assembly from 2002 to 2013.
Hameed Ullah Jan Afridi is a Pakistani politician who had been a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from 2008 to 2013.
Muhammad Tariq Anis is a Pakistani politician who had been a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from 2008 to 2013. He had been a member of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab from 1988 to 1990 and again from 1993 to 1996.
Muhammad Moazam Ali Khan Jatoi is a Pakistani politician who had been a member of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab from July 2022 till January 2023. He had previously been a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from 2008 to 2013.
Sardar Bahadur Ahmed Khan Sehar is a Pakistani politician who had been a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from 2002 to 2013. He remained a member of the federal cabinet as Minister for Defence Production from 2011 to 2013.
Sultan Mohammad Khan is a Pakistani politician who served as the Provincial Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for Law, Parliamentary Affairs and Human Rights, in office from 29 August 2018 to 9 Feb 2021. He was removed from his post because he was spotted in a video where he could be seen selling his Senate vote. He had been a Member of the Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from August 2018 till January 2023. Previously, he was a member of the Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from May 2013 to May 2018.
Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani is a Pakistani politician, is the 8th and current Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan. He took his oath of office as a Member and Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan on 12 March 2018. He is the youngest and first-ever Chairman of the Senate who hails from the province of Balochistan. He belongs to the poor conservative Sanjrani tribe. From June 2023 to July 2023, he served as the acting President of Pakistan.
Fawad Ahmed Hussain Chaudhry (Urdu: فواداحمد حسین چوہدری is a Pakistani politician and a senior member of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, who was Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, in office since 14 April 2021 to 10 April 2022. On 24 May 2023 announced he is taking "break" from politics.
The 2023 Karachi local government elections were held in Karachi, Pakistan on 15 January 2023 to elect members of local councils. These members would then elect the Mayor of Karachi (2023-2027). These elections were the 3rd Karachi local government elections.
The Next Pakistani Senate election is scheduled to be held by March 2024. 52 out of 100 incumbent Senators including 4 FATA senators will Retire after completing their 6 year terms. After the merger of FATA with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the remaining 4 out of 8 seats will also be abolished. 48 seats from four Provinces and the Federal Capital will be up for election.
Nadeem Khayal Khan is a Pakistani politician from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. He had been a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from February 2023 till August 2023.
By-elections were held on 8 National Assembly and 3 Punjab Assembly constituencies in Pakistan on 16 October 2022 and 1 National Assembly seat on 30 October 2022. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf got a landslide victory by winning 7 out of 9 National Assembly and 2 out of 3 Punjab Assembly seats seats whereas the Pakistan Democratic Movement, an alliance of 14 parties, was only able to win 2 National Assembly seats and 1 Punjab Assembly seat.
2023 Pakistani parliamentary crisis began when 127 MNAs belonging to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) resigned en masse from National Assembly. Finally, all by-elections have been suspended by the High Courts from the four provinces.