Elections for the

Senate of Pakistan The Senate of Pakistan, Constitution of Pakistan, 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 96, of which 92 are elected by the Member of th ...

were held on 2 April 2024. Senate elections in

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ; , ; abbr. KP or KPK), formerly known as the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Northern Pakistan, northwestern region of the country, Khyber ...

were postponed by the ECP. 52 out of 100 incumbent Senators including 4

FATA The Federally Administered Tribal Areas, commonly known as FATA, was a autonomous administrative division, semi-autonomous tribal region in north-western Pakistan that existed from Independence Day (Pakistan), 1947 until being merged with the ...

senators retired after completing their 6 year terms. After the merger of FATA with

, the remaining 4 out of 8 seats were also abolished. 48 seats from four Provinces and the

Federal Capital A federal capital is a political entity, often a municipality or capital (political), capital city, that serves as the Seat of government, seat of the federal government. A federal capital is typically a city that physically encompasses the offices ...

were up for election, including the seats for which the election was postponed.

Background

The previous Senate elections on these seats were held on 3 March 2018. As a result of these elections,

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is a political party in Pakistan established in 1996 by cricketer and politician Imran Khan, who served as the country's prime minister from 2018 to 2022. The party is led by Gohar Ali Khan since late 2023. ...

(PTI) became the largest party in the Senate as it won the most seats, securing 18 of the 48 senate seats up for election; of which 10 came from

, 5 from

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

, 2 from

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

, and one from

Islamabad Islamabad (; , ; ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's tenth-most populous city with a population of over 1.1 million and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Bu ...

. The

Pakistan Peoples Party The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is a political party in Pakistan and one of the three major List of political parties in Pakistan, Pakistani political parties alongside the Pakistan Muslim League (N) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. With a Cent ...

(PPP) came in second by winning 8 seats, of which 7 were won in Sindh and one in Islamabad. The

Balochistan Awami Party The Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) is a political party based in the Balochistan province of Pakistan founded in 2018 by political dissidents of the Pakistan Muslim League (N) and the Pakistan Muslim League (Q) in Balochistan. The party emerged ...

(BAP) was declared victorious on 6 seats - all from

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; , ), also spelled as Baluchistan or Baluchestan, is a historical region in West and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. This arid region o ...

. Finally, the

Pakistan Muslim League (N) The Pakistan Muslim League (N) or (PML(N)) is a Centre-right politics, centre-right, Conservatism in Pakistan, conservative political party in Pakistan. It is currently the third-largest party in the Senate of Pakistan, Senate and the larges ...

lost its majority in the Senate as it could only manage 5 seats from Punjab against 16 retiring senators. After the results were declared, much of the focus was on the Islamabad General seat won by PPP's

Yousaf Raza Gillani Yusuf Raza Gilani (born 9 June 1952) is a Pakistani politician who served as the 16th prime minister of Pakistan from 2008 to 2012. He is currently serving as the Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan since 2024. Chairman Gilani served as the acti ...

where he beat PTI's incumbent finance minister,

Abdul Hafeez Shaikh Abdul Hafeez Sheikh () is a Pakistani economist and politician who served as Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Affairs from 11 December 2020 to 29 March 2021. Previously, he served as an advisor to Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue ...

, by a margin of 5 votes. Although, Gillani was the opposition's joint candidate, he still did not have the required majority unless those on the treasury benches voted for him or intentionally voided their votes in the secret ballot. This fact, coupled with the leaked video of his son, led to PTI petitioning the

Election Commission of Pakistan The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is an independent, autonomous, permanent and constitutionally established federal body responsible for organizing and conducting elections to the national parliament, provincial legislatures, local g ...

against his victory. Meanwhile, Gurdeep Singh of the PTI became the first

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

to be elected to the Senate of Pakistan as he won the minority seat from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Abdul Qadir Abd al-Qadir or Abdulkadir () is a male Muslim given name. It is formed from the Arabic words '' Abd'', ''al-'' and '' Qadir''. The name means 'servant of who can do everything'. ''Al-Qādir'' is one of the names of Allah in the Qur'an, which ...

, who had won as an Independent from Balochistan, later joined the PTI, increasing the tally of the party to 26 in the Senate.

Results

Results by Administrative Units

Below are the results by

administrative unit Administrative divisions (also administrative units, administrative regions, subnational entities, or constituent states, as well as many similar generic terms) are geographical areas into which a particular independent sovereign state is divi ...

. Elections in

were postponed due to the refusal of the Speaker of its Provincial Assembly to administer oaths to opposition members elected on reserved seats, which he claimed to belong to the

Aftermath

On 9 April 2024,

Yusuf Raza Gilani Yusuf Raza Gilani (born 9 June 1952) is a Pakistani politician who served as the 16th prime minister of Pakistan from 2008 to 2012. He is currently serving as the Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan since 2024. Chairman Gilani served as the acti ...

of the

Pakistan People's Party The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is a political party in Pakistan and one of the three major Pakistani political parties alongside the Pakistan Muslim League (N) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. With a centre-left political position, it is cu ...

(PPP) and

Syedaal Khan Nasar Sardar Syedaal Khan Nasar () is a Pakistani politician who is senator-elect for the Senate of Pakistan from Balochistan province. He is serving as deputy chairman of senate since 9 April 2024. Political career Nasar was elected from Balochistan ...

of the

(PML(N)), both being candidates of the treasury benches, were elected unopposed to the

Chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

and

Deputy Chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

positions respectively. They replaced

Sadiq Sanjrani Mir Muhammad Sadiq Khan Sanjrani (born 14 April 1970) is a Pakistani politician who was formerly the chairman of the Senate of Pakistan. He took his oath of office as a member and chairman of the Senate of Pakistan on 12 March 2018 and served un ...

of the

(BAP) and Mirza Muhammad Afridi of the

(PTI). The opposition PTI boycotted the election, arguing for its postponement until after Senate elections were held in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. On the same day,

Ishaq Dar Muhammad Ishaq Dar (born 13 May 1950) is a Pakistani accountant and politician who currently serves as the 6th deputy prime minister and 38th foreign minister of Pakistan since 2024. A close aide of the Sharif family, Dar is affiliated with ...

of the PML(N) was appointed as Leader of the House in the Senate, a position he has held since 30 September 2022. On 22 April,

Shibli Faraz Syed Shibli Faraz () is a Pakistani politician who is currently serving as the Leader of Opposition in Senate of Pakistan since April 2024. He previously served as the Minister of Science and Technology, in 2021 and 2022. He has been a member ...

of the PTI was appointed as the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, replacing Shahzad Waseem, also of the PTI.

References

{{Senate of Pakistan

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

Senate election Senate elections in Pakistan