By Staff Reporter
PESHAWAR: Senate elections for 11 seats in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province commenced on Monday after months of delays and infighting within the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), narrowing a once-fractured contest into a primary showdown between the PTI and a united opposition, with one party dissenter still in the race.
The polls, held in the 145-member provincial assembly, will fill seven general seats, two for women, and two for technocrats or religious scholars. The process hinges on the single transferable vote (STV) system, a form of proportional representation distinct from the first-past-the-post method used in general elections.
Under STV, lawmakers rank candidates by preference on a single ballot. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) calculates a quota, 21 votes for general seats and 72 for women’s and technocrat seats, determining the threshold for victory. Surplus votes from winning candidates and ballots from eliminated contenders are redistributed based on voter preferences until all seats are filled.
The PTI, commanding 92 seats in the 145-member assembly, has nominated a strong slate of candidates. For the general seats, the party has put forward Murad Saeed, Faisal Javed, Mirza Muhammad Afridi, and Noorul Haq Qadri. Muhammad Azam Khan Swati is the pick for the technocrat seat, while Rubina Naz contests the women’s seat.
The opposition, with 53 seats, counters with its own lineup: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), the largest opposition party with 18 seats, fields Attaul Haq for a general seat and Dilawar Khan for technocrat; the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), with 17 seats, nominates Niaz Ahmad for a general seat; and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), holding 10 seats, backs Muhammad Talha for a general seat and Rubina Khalid for the women’s seat.
The run-up to the vote exposed deep fissures within PTI. Five members, Irfan Saleem, Waqas Orakzai, Irshad Hussain, Khurram Zeeshan, and Ayesha Bano, initially defied party directives to withdraw, citing frustration with the candidate selection process.
What began as a potential three-way contest, pitting PTI loyalists against a faction of disgruntled party members and a united opposition, has narrowed to a near two-way race. Late Sunday night, all but one of the PTI dissenters withdrew their candidacies, leaving Khurram Zeeshan as the sole rebel candidate vying for a general seat.
Hussain, who had filed for the technocrat seat, wrote to the ECP. “I do not wish to contest. Please drop my name from the Senate election list,” aligning his decision with instructions from PTI leadership and founder Imran Khan.
Orakzai also confirmed his exit, telling reporters it did not reflect a shift in his ideology. He said PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar and legal adviser Salman Akram Raja assured him the nominees had Khan’s approval. Only Zeeshan remains in the race, setting the stage for a test of party discipline.
The elections were nearly derailed by a dispute over the oath-taking of 25 lawmakers elected to reserved seats in the KP Assembly. The ECP postponed the polls in March 2024, citing a standoff with the assembly speaker over administering these oaths. The impasse persisted until Sunday, when the Peshawar High Court (PHC) stepped in.
Following repeated ECP requests, the court directed KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi to swear in the members. The ceremony, held in the Governor House that evening, completed the 145-member electoral college, clearing the way for today’s vote.
Efforts to avoid a contested election fell apart despite negotiations between the PTI-led government and the opposition. Under a proposed deal, six seats would go to the government and five to the opposition. But the initial refusal of the dissenting PTI candidates to withdraw scuttled the plan. With 25 candidates now competing for the 11 seats, the polls promise a competitive showdown. The PTI’s 92 lawmakers give it a numerical edge, though the opposition’s 53 votes, and Zeeshan’s wildcard candidacy, could complicate the outcome.
The Senate seats have been vacant since last March, part of a broader delay affecting 48 seats nationwide. While elections proceeded in Punjab, Sindh, and Balochistan in April 2024, KP’s polls remained stalled until now. A separate election for a women’s seat, vacated by PTI’s Sania Nishtar, is scheduled for July 31.
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