ISLAMABAD: A delay in elections on vacant seats in Pakistan’s Senate, caused by the absence of an electoral college, would not impact legislation in the upper house of parliament, experts said on Tuesday, a day after more than half of Senate members retired.
Pakistan’s Senate consists of 100 members, of which 52 retired on Monday night, with polls on 48 vacant seats of the house slated to be held on April 2.
Elections usually take place days before the senators’ terms end, but it was delayed this time due to the failure of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to hold timely general elections. General elections scheduled for November last year were held on Feb. 8 this year.
However, Irfan Qadir, former attorney-general of Pakistan, told the president had powers under the constitution to appoint a member of the Senate as chair of the house till election of the chairman and deputy chairman.
“This delay in election of the Senate is essentially caused by absence of the electoral college, but this is not a constitutional crisis in anyway,” he told Arab News. “The house can still do legislation and debate any issue of public importance.”
Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani stepped down from his position after his election as member of Balochistan Assembly, while Senate Deputy Chairman Mirza Muhammad Afridi, Leader of the House Ishaq Dar and Leader of the Opposition Dr. Shahzad Wasim have retired after completing their six-year term.
Election experts said the delay in general election also affected constitutional offices like the presidency.
Outgoing president Dr. Arif Alvi was set to retire in September last year, but a new president could not be elected in absence of the electoral college that comprises the parliament and four provincial legislatures. President Asif Ali Zardari replaced Alvi this week after a delay of at least five months.
“This affected election of the president and Senate elections besides an extension in caretaker government’s tenure,” Rashid Chaudhry, deputy director of programs at the Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) in Islamabad, told Arab News.
He said vacancies in parliament would not affect any legislation or routine proceedings of the Senate. “A house is never complete with its total strength, so the public interest work like legislation is not hampered by it,” he said.
Chaudhry, however, acknowledged this was an “extraordinary situation” created by the delay in the national polls, adding that “we have seen so much in the last two years that this even doesn’t seem a crisis.”
Senate elections will now be held for 48 seats as four of them reserved for erstwhile federally administered tribal areas have already been abolished after their merger with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Polling will be held on seven general seats, two for women and two for technocrats/ulema from each of Pakistan’s four provinces and its capital. Two seats reserved for non-Muslims would also be filled, one each from Sindh and Punjab. Two senators will be elected from Islamabad, one each under the general and technocrat/ulema category.
