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Hi Pakistan
February 16,
2003
Summary: Members of the
Pakistan Senate are elected by the members of the provincial
assemblies assemblies (who number 168 in total), using choice voting
(the single transferable vote). This article discusses the different
voting power of each political party, in terms of how many Senators
they will be able to elect on their own, and how many votes they
will have left over to pool with other parties to elect further
Senators.
Hi Pakistan, Pakistan
Bargaining for Senate seats in full swing
February 16, 2003 KARACHI: Out of the
three independent candidates in the run for the Senate's general
seats, two may emerge as dark horses owing to their manoeuvring,
financial clout and influence across the power corridors, according
to political circles. The elections, in all the four provinces, are
scheduled for Feb 24. The independents - Dewan Yusuf Farooqui, Amin
Dadabhai and Munir Sultan - are currently busy wooing legislators
and putting up vigorous efforts to win over the electorates.
Political circles point out that the aspirants have been
concentrating on the legislators belonging to Pakistan Peoples Party
and Mutahida Majlis-i-Amal those belonging to the PML-Q and the
component parties of National Alliance are already committed to
their respective party high commands under an understanding. The
sources also point out that in Senate elections, wheelers and
dealers are not legislators but the task is being accomplished by
either group leaders or influential middle-men who, after securing
the voters' commitment, start bargaining with the candidates. In
order to secure seats for its stake-holders, the government has
started talks with the disgruntled groups to rope them in the line
by offering cabinet seats for their representatives in the next
phase of cabinet expansion. After the Supreme Court verdict
allowing losers to contest the Senate elections, the total number of
candidates in the field has increased from 40 to 43. According to
the break up, there are 24 candidates contesting 14 general seats,
nine for the four seats reserved for women and 10 for the four seats
reserved for technocrats/ulema. The three candidates who have
benefitted from the SC verdict are Asif Mustafa Jatoi and Ali Hasan
Chanhio (vying for general seats) and Ayaz Malik (seeking a
technocrat's seat). According to sources, Asif Jatoi's candidature
has not yet been cleared owing to the objection from his rival over
his graduation degree. Earlier, nomination papers of Javed Jabbar
and Syed Jalal Mehmood Shah, both contesting for general seats, were
provisionally accepted by the Election Commission and after the SC
ruling, they are very much in the field. According to the single
transferable vote system, a candidate for the general seat from
Sindh needs only 12 votes to emerge victorious. The only
independent candidate for the reserved women seats is Sheerin
Farooqui. Circles close to the treasury benches told Dawn that
independent candidates had been told that if they managed to secure
even half of the required votes, they could make way to the Senate
through the single transferable votes from treasury benches under
the system. Under the proportional representation system, the votes
in excess of the required votes can further be divided among other
candidates in accordance with to the next available preferences on
the ballot papers. After the transfer of surplus votes, the
candidate whose votes are the lowest on the poll is excluded and his
votes are also transferred according to the next available
preferences. The electoral college for election of the Senate
members comprises members of the provincial assemblies. On the basis
of 168, which is total strength of the Sindh Assembly, 12 votes are
needed to win a general seat and 42 for a reserved seat.The present
party position in the assembly indicates that Pakistan Peoples Party
is the only party which can get its five senators elected on general
seats and one each on technocrat and woman seats. The PPP, which is
left with 63 members after defection of its five members, even after
getting its seven senators elected has three votes for general
seats, and 21 for technocrat and woman seats. Mutahida Qaumi
Movement, which has 41 members in the House, even after getting its
three members elected to the Senate from general seats, will still
left with five votes for general seats. However, being short of one
vote for technocrat and women reserved seats, the MQM without
support from coalition partners is not in a position to get any of
its candidate elected to the reserved seats. Pakistan Muslim
League-Q, which has succeeded to enrol nine members on its side has
raised its strength from 18 to 27. Therefore, it will get its two
senators elected from general seats in addition to three extra votes
for the general seat and 27 for bargaining on reserved seats.
National Alliance, which has a strength of 16 votes, can only get
one member elected to the Senate keeping four votes for bargaining
on general seats and 16 votes for reserved seats. Pakistan Muslim
League-F has 13 members in the House. It is in a position to send
only one candidate to the Senate and still keeping one vote for the
general seat and all its 13 votes for bargaining on reserved seats.
The Mutahida Majlis-i-Amal, which is left with eight votes after
defection of its two members to the coalition side. It is not in a
position to get even one member elected on the Senate's general
seats without reaching understanding with other groups. However,
since it has eight votes at its disposal for the reserved seats, it
can get only one candidate elected to the Senate and that, too, on a
general seat. On the treasury side - comprising the MQM, PML-Q, NA
and PML-F - the remaining votes if pooled together would be 13 to
get one more candidate elected from the general seat while on the
reserved seats, the benches would have 97 votes available to get two
women and two technocrats elected to the Senate with 13 more votes
still available. On the opposition side, PPP is backed by the MMA
and Mohajir Qaumi Movement. It will have 11 votes, one short of the
required votes to get another of its candidate elected on general
seat. It will have 29 votes available for bargaining on reserved
seats. Prof Muhammad Saeed Siddiqui, Noman Sehgal, Ahmad Ali, Babar
Khan Ghori, Muhammad Arif Khan and Rana Safdar of MQM; Javed Jabbar
and Syed Jalal Mehmood Shah of National Alliance; Justice (r) Abdul
Razzaq Thahim of PML-F; Muhammadmian Soomro and Abdul Hafeez Shaikh
of PML-Q are contesting on genera seats. |
