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| January 2, 2006 | Monday | Zilhaj 1, 1426 |
Senate draw today
ISLAMABAD, Jan 1: The draw for retiring 50 per cent members of the 100-seat Senate will be held here at Parliament House on Monday at 10am in accordance with the Article 59 of the Constitution. Chief Election Commissioner Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar will supervise the draw.
This will determine the fate of 98 senators, as that of two – Mrs Tahira Latif and Wasim Sajjad – is already known.
The former is to relinquish her office on completion of six-year term while the latter is to retire on the conclusion of three years in line with the 17th Amendment.
The senators retiring as a result of the draw will relinquish their office by March 11 as election for a fresh lot of senators will have been completed by then.
Representatives of political parties will be present during the process of the draw, an exercise to be overseen by newsmen.
According to a breakdown of the Senate’s strength, every provincial assembly elects 22 members with eight coming from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and four from the federal capital territory.
The government is faced with a big challenge of not only maintaining its majority but also of increasing it in line with its sweeping successes in the just-concluded local government elections.
It has to elect a deputy chairman of the Senate, an office which had fallen vacant in the middle of outgoing year due to retirement of Khalilur Rahman upon his elevation as governor of NWFP.
The ruling coalition is determined to replace their retired senators with some fresh faces while reposing trust in others.
For instance Wasim Sajjad, who serves the ruling coalition as leader of the house in the upper chamber of parliament, is certain to make a comeback.
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