Treasury, opposition promise big surprise in today s Senate polls - Pakistan dawn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from dawn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Danesh Kumar BAP (Minorities)
Polling continued until after 5pm in the KP Assembly, where the ECP allowed lawmakers already inside the legislature to cast their votes. Polling did not take place on Wednesday in Punjab where all Senate candidates were elected unopposed last month after disqualification or withdrawal of papers by other contestants.
Yousuf Gilani vs Hafeez Shaikh
While the ruling PTI’s numerical strength in the Senate was expected to almost double from the existing 14 seats, the hottest contest was expected between Gilani and Shaikh.
Opposition s Yousuf Raza Gilani meets PTI s Hafeez Shaikh in NA. Screengrab from PTV
Hours before polling commenced, the contest became even more controversial with the emergence of a video of Gilani s son, Ali Haider, explaining to certain lawmakers how to cancel their votes.
PTI gets the lion’s share in Senate polls
With 18 fresh seats, ruling party’s tally in upper house rises to 26
PHOTO: FILE
KARACHI:
Barring the federal setback, Wednesday’s Senate elections didn’t spring any major surprise as the ruling PTI dethroned its political arch-nemesis, the PML-N, as the single largest party in the upper house of parliament. This was what political pundits had predicted based on the governing party’s numerical strength in the four provincial assemblies.
Lawmakers in the National Assembly and the provincial assemblies of Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa voted to elect 37 senators. Punjab had already returned 11 senators unopposed as a result of a rare consensus among the government and the opposition there. In all, 48 senators have been elected to replace the retiring members of the upper house of parliament.
PTI makes substantial gains in Senate but suffers major setback in lslamabad - Pakistan dawn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from dawn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.