Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Concludes Selection of Senate Candidates, Polls Scheduled for April 2

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has finalized two additional candidates to contest the upcoming Senate elections on April 2, as per reports by ARY News, following an initial consultation.

Sources within PTI informed ARY News that among the hopefuls from Islamabad are Zulfi Bukhari and Hamid Khan, a founding member of the party. PTI has already granted a ticket to Ilyas Meharban from Islamabad to participate in the Senate polls.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) recently announced that elections for 48 Senate seats will be conducted on April 2, marking the end of the six-year term for the current Senators.

With 52 seats set to become vacant, elections will only be held for 48 senators.
This reduction is due to the abolition of four reserved seats for the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) following the 25th constitutional amendment.

The official schedule for the elections is set to be issued on March 14, as per the electoral watchdog. The polling will cover seven general seats, two for women, two for technocrats (including Ulema), and one for non-Muslims from Sindh and Punjab.

Moreover, representatives from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) and Balochistan will participate in electing members for seven general seats, two women, and two technocrats (including Ulema). Members of the National Assembly will elect one general seat and one technocrat seat (including Ulema) from the federal capital.

In preparation for the upcoming elections, the ECP has appointed returning officers (ROs) for Islamabad and the four provinces. Saeed Gul, the Director General Training of the ECP, will serve as the Returning Officer in the federal capital. Additionally, Aijaz Anwar Chohan, Sharifullah, Shamshad Khan, and Muhammad Farid Afridi have been designated as returning officers in Punjab, Sindh, KP, and Balochistan, respectively.

Furthermore, by-elections for six vacant Senate seats are scheduled for Thursday, March 14. The polling will take place at the upper house of parliament, as well as at the Sindh and Balochistan assemblies in Karachi and Quetta, according to ARY News reports.