Re: 92 candidates to contest for 50 Senate seats
NEWS ANALYSIS: Govt stronger in Senate with 60 seats
By Rana Qaisar
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Muslim League (PML and its coalition partners not only maintained their erstwhile strength in the Senate, they also consolidated their position by adding. With the elections on 44 Senate seats (11 seats from each province), the PML and its allies, which had lost 22 seats, won 24 seats.
In the 100-memebr Senate, the ruling coalition, which earlier had 56 seats, is expected to make it 60. The ruling coalition has now seventeen seats from the Punjab, fourteen from Sindh, eight from NWFP and ten from Balochistan. It will also have all the four seats from Islamabad besides seven from FATA.
The opposition parties had lost 22 Senate seats and won back 20 seats, with the MMA and the PPP-P losing one seat each in NWFP. The PPP-P also lost one seat in the Punjab.
The PML gained one extra (technocrat) seat from the Punjab. It had lost eight seats and won nine as the PPP-P, which had lost two (one technocrat and one general) seats, could win one (general) seat only. The PML-N had lost one seat and won it back with Ishaq Dar making it again to the Senate. Out of 11 Punjab seats, the PML won nine (five unopposed), and the PPP-P and PML-N one each (unopposed). In Sindh, the PML and the PPP-P maintained their positions. The PML and the PPP-P had lost two and four seats respectively and they won them back. The PML had lost its technocrat seat and now won a woman seat retaining one general seat, which it had lost. The PPP-P had lost four (general) seats and it maintained its position by winning two general seats with one seat each from the quota reserved for technocrats and women. The PML-F retained its one (general) seat. The MQM had lost four (one technocrat, two women and one general) seats and one back three (one technocrat and two general) seats. The MMA, which had earlier lost its only seat to the MQM in by-election, won it back. Out of 11 Sindh seats, the PML won two, PML-F one, MQM three, MMA one, and PPP-P four seats.
The PML had lost only one (woman) seat in NWFP. It not only regained its woman seat, it also won two (general) seats increasing its strength from three to five. The PPP-Sherpao, which already had two seats in the Senate, won one more (general) seat. The ANP had lost one (technocrat) seat, which it regained. The MMA had lost eight seats but won back six seats. The MMA lost two seats while the PPP-P lost its only seat in NWFP. The PML lost one (woman) seat in Balochistan. Five (one technocrat, two women, and two general) PML senators from Balochistan had retired and it could bring back four (one woman, one technocrat and two general). The MMA maintained its position. Three (general) MMA senators had retired and three senators (one woman, one general and one technocrat) have been elected again. The JWP lost its technocrat seat and won one general seat, maintaining its earlier position. The PkMAP, which already had two (general) seats in the Senate, added one more (general) seat to its strength. The BNP-Awami had lost one (general) seat and won it back, maintaining its position. The PNP-Hayee, which had lost its only seat, could not get it back with an independent candidate making it to the Senate. Out of 11 Balochistan seats, the PML won four seats, MMA three and the JWP, PkMAP and BNP-Awami won one seat each while one seat went to an independent candidate.
The PML and the MMA had lost one seat each from Islamabad. PML’s Wasim Sajjad was elected unopposed, while PML’s Tariq Azeem is most likely to win another Islamabad seat, which the MMA had won in 2003 in collaboration with the PML. The MMA had not fielded its candidate from Islamabad. Four PML senators from FATA had retired. Traditionally, the parliamentarians from FATA align themselves with the government and the PML is most likely to win back these four seats. Three FATA senators are already with the government.
Party Retired Regained Loss/gain
PUNJAB
PML 8 9 1+
PPP-P 2 1 1-
PML-N 1 1 0
SINDH
PML 2 2 0
MQM 4 3 1-
PPP-P 4 4 0
PML-F 1 1 0
MMA 0 1 1+
NWFP
MMA 8 6 2-
PML 1 3 2+
PPP-P 1 0 1-
PPP(Sherpao) 0 1 1+
ANP 1 1 0
BALOCHISTAN
PML 5 4 1-
MMA 3 3 0
BNP (Awami) 1 1 0
JWP 1 1 0
PkMAP 0 1 1+
Independent 0 1 1+
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006\03\07\story_7-3-2006_pg7_42