Peshawar: The issue of Senate elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has become entangled in a legal battle, as the newly elected members could not take oath on specific seats. According to the Election Commission’s schedule, it is uncertain whether the Senate elections will take place or not, making the situation more complicated.
The Election Commission has left the decision on whether the Senate elections will be held or not to the current circumstances of tomorrow. The electoral body of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly will decide whether to conduct the Senate elections. The elections for the vacant 11 seats of the Senate in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will take place according to the schedule on Tuesday. Due to the failure to pass a resolution in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly to designate the Assembly as a polling station, the elections will be held at the Assembly Hall.
After the special seats were not allocated to the Sunni Council, 26 women and 4 minority seats in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly have been allotted to opposition parties. The opposition parties have approached the High Court against not taking oath on specific seats by the unelected members, leading the court to order the Speaker of the Assembly to hold a session to take oaths from the unelected members.
On the other hand, the Election Commission of Pakistan has stated in response to a request from women members that if oaths are not taken from successful candidates on specific seats before the Senate elections, the Senate elections may be postponed. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party and the Speaker of the Assembly have also filed requests in court for decisions to be made.
No decision has been made regarding the holding of Senate elections in accordance with the schedule, as the Election Commission has stated that polling will take place at the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly according to the schedule, and a decision will be made on whether to conduct the elections based on the circumstances. On the other hand, decisions are still awaited in court on requests from PTI members and the Speaker of the Assembly.