The PPP and the JUI-F have agreed to collaborate for the forthcoming Senate elections, PPP Secretary General Nayyer Hussain Bukhari announced on Tuesday.
Islamabad: PPP JUI-F forge alliance for Senate elections. Addressing a press conference alongside former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and JUI-F leader Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, Bukhari clarified that the PPP would support the JUI-F candidate for the Senate polls in Balochistan, while the JUI-F would reciprocate by supporting Yousuf Raza Gilani in Islamabad.
The Senate by-election, scheduled for March 14, will fill vacant seats.
Bukhari said that three Senate seats in Balochistan had been vacated, prompting the JUI-F to seek PPP’s support.
Haideri emphasised that while the JUI-F wouldn’t engage in government formation, they would actively fulfill their parliamentary responsibilities.
Gilani expressed mutual support between the parties, stating, “We are backing each other in parliament and will collaborate closely within the house.”
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The Senate of Pakistan or Aiwān-e-Bālā Pākistān constitutionally the House of the Federation, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Pakistan. As of 2023, It has a maximum membership of 100, of which 92 are elected by the provincial legislatures using single transferable vote. Four represent the Federal Capital and another four are representing former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (now part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), until membership expiration in 2024. Members sit for terms lasting six years, with half of the house up for election every three years. Unlike the National Assembly, the Senate is a continuing chamber and hence not subject to dissolution.
First convened in 1973, the Senate’s composition and powers are established by the Article 59 of the Constitution of Pakistan. Each of the four provinces is represented by 23 senators regardless of population, while the Islamabad Capital Territory is represented by four senators, all of whom serve staggered six-year terms. The Senate secretariat is located in the east wing of the Parliament Building; the National Assembly convenes in the west wing of the same building.
The Senate has several exclusive powers not granted to the National Assembly, including the powers of making parliamentary bills as a being enforced into law. Elections are held every three years for one half of the Senate and each Senator has a term of six years. The Constitution does not allow for the dissolution of the Senate.
