It will take place simultaneously in national and provincial assemblies
The Election Commission of Pakistan has announced on Thursday that the Senate Elections 2021 will be held on Wednesday, March 3, 2021.
The elections will take place simultaneously in National Assembly and all four provincial assemblies between 9am to 5pm.
The nomination papers for the Senate elections can be submitted on February 12 and February 13. The scrutiny of nomination papers will take place on February 14 and February 15, the commission said.
The commission said that it will be mandatory for the candidates to submit the party ticket with their nomination papers.
Applications against acceptance and rejection of nomination papers can be submitted on February 17 and February 17, and the decision on those applications will be announced on February 19 and February 20, the commission said.
The final list of candidates will be issued on February 21. The candidates can withdraw their applications till February 22.
The commission has announced returning officers and polling officers for Islamabad and all four provincial assemblies.
ECP Special Secretary Zafar Iqbal will be the returning officer for Senate elections in the National Assembly, while Shamshad Khan, Shahid Iqbal and Asif Ali Yaseen have been appointed polling officers.
Sindh Election Commissioner Ijaz Anwar Chohan will be the returning officer in Sindh Assembly, Punjab Election Commissioner Ghulam Israr Khan in Punjab Assembly, KP Election Commissioner Shareefullah in KP Assembly, and Balochistan Election Commissioner Muhammad Razzaq in Balochistan Assembly.
The Senate has 104 senators at this moment in time. The election is being held because the terms in office of 52 or almost half of Pakistan’s senators are coming to an end in March. This includes the deputy chairman of the Senate, Saleem Mandviwalla of the PPP. Mandviwalla’s three years as a senator are up.
With Mandviwalla’s term as a senator expired, his seat as deputy chairman will also be up for grabs. The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf would definitely want one of its own to become the next deputy chairman.
Over the weekend, President Arif Alvi signed the Elections Ordinance 2021 which paved the way for open balloting in the Senate.
This is a vote by a show of hands as opposed to people voting secretly. (The president may have signed the ordinance (or law) but it can only be used if the Supreme Court says so.)
