PESHAWAR – Voting has begun in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Monday to elect 11 senators to the Upper House of Parliament. The polling is taking place at the Jirga Hall, designated as the official polling station by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
The KP Senate elections have drawn national attention due to their significance in reshaping the Senate’s balance of power. Polling started at 11:00 am and will continue until 4:00 pm.
The voting follows Sunday’s oath-taking of members on KP reserved seats, which cleared the way for the long-delayed elections. A total of 25 candidates are contesting, with seven general seats and two each for technocrats and women up for grabs.
In a strategic move, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur persuaded four dissident PTI lawmakers to withdraw from the race. This prevented a PTI-versus-PTI clash and strengthened the party’s position.
The elections are based on proportional representation using the single transferable vote system. This system allows KP assembly members to rank candidates in order of preference.
To win a general seat, a candidate needs at least 19 votes. Reserved seats for women and technocrats require 49 votes each. A white ballot is used for general seats, green for technocrats, and pink for women.
The ruling PTI enjoys support from 92 members in the KP Assembly. The opposition has 53 votes and is aiming to secure three general seats but requires four more votes for the third.
A rare bipartisan effort has led to the formation of a joint panel supporting PPP’s Senator Talha Mahmood. He currently has 15 votes from the opposition and is expected to gain five more from the government, potentially securing his win.
Among the major PTI candidates are Murad Saeed, Faisal Javed, Mirza Afridi, and Noorul Haq Qadri. The opposition has fielded candidates from PML-N, PPP, and JUI-F.
With polling underway, all eyes remain on the KP Senate elections to see how the balance of power in the Senate may shift.
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