Following an exceptionally quiet election, the Senate was almost back to full strength Regretfully, the persistent dispute over reserved seats between the ECP and the provincial government prevented polling for KP’s seats from taking place.
In the meantime, there were few reports of the frenzied horse-trading and wheeling that had tarnished the previous Senate polls, which are held every three years to choose half of the Upper House’s total membership.In Punjab, the PTI, PML-N, and PPP allegedly came to an agreement that allowed its seven general seats to be filled without a contest. Meanwhile, all of the contenders for the seats in Balochistan were declared winners without facing any opposition. Because of its majority in the provincial parliament, the PML-N was able to win all five of Punjab’s remaining seats: two were allocated to women, two to technocrats, and one to minorities. All but two of the seats in Sindh were won by the PPP; those seats went to Faisal Vawda and the MQM-P, respectively.
At first glance, the Senate election appeared to be devoid of major controversy, especially in light of the turbulent general election that occurred only a few months prior.Still, one need only glance at the list of retracted candidates to start questioning whether the same forces and factors held sway.
For instance, the chief minister of Punjab and the acting prime minister, who are purportedly independent of any political party, each succeeded in winning a seat without any opposition. There was conjecture that they were compensated for the “services” they had provided. While ‘independent’ candidate Faisal Vawda miraculously secured the PPP’s endorsement for his nomination at the last minute, despite having nothing evident to offer in return, the PML-N sacrificed a loyalist’s seat for former bureaucrat Ahad Cheema. It was only natural for onlookers to associate his good fortune with powerful allies.In some ways, these elections also felt like the end of an era. When giving out tickets, the PPP ignored seasoned politicians and longtime supporters like Raza Rabbani and Waqar Mehdi, while the PML-N was compelled to overlook legends like Khawaja Saad Rafique, Rana Sanaullah, Khurram Dastgir, and Javed Latif when ceding its seats to outsiders.
Lastly, it would be incomplete to discuss these Senate elections without mentioning the potential ramifications of meddling in general elections. For instance, the debate over public representation that erupted in response to the ECP’s “bat verdict” is still very much alive and well, as evidenced by yesterday’s postponement of the KP seat elections.Lastly, it would be incomplete to discuss these Senate elections without mentioning the potential ramifications of meddling in general elections. For instance, the debate over public representation that erupted in response to the ECP’s “bat verdict” is still very much alive and well, as evidenced by yesterday’s postponement of the KP seat elections.
Furthermore, one could not help but be reminded of the ongoing controversies surrounding the formation of these assemblies because Senate seats are often distributed based on each party’s strength in their individual assembly. All that can be hoped for is that this newly acquired legislative authority won’t be abused.