Pakistani politicians elect senators

BBC.COM

Closely watched elections to the Pakistan Senate are being held, with the beleaguered government expecting to make significant gains.

Members of parliament's lower house and the provincial assemblies, largely from the party of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, will vote in the poll.

More than half of the senators are being replaced as their terms end.

Analysts say recent political conflicts have partly been aimed at removing the government before this vote.

The government, opposition and the powerful military are in conflict over a leaked memo suggesting that President Asif Ali Zadari wanted to ask the US government for support to prevent a possible coup, during the turmoil which followed the killing of Osama Bin Laden.

The Supreme Court has also tried to force Mr Gilani to re-open corruption allegations against Mr Zardari.

Several leaders of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), which Mr Zardari leads, have said publicly that opposition parties have conspired to stop the Senate election.
Seats for minorities

The opposition say the vote would establish the ruling PPP with a majority in the upper house, giving it a comfortable position for the remainder of parliament.

The vote is also likely to ensure the PPP a role in parliament for the next six years, with the party widely expected to do badly in parliamentary elections to be held by early next year.

Local journalists are predicting the PPP could see its number of senators rise from 27 to 48 in Friday's vote, with two other parties in the ruling coalition also due to benefit, says Sajid Iqbal at BBC Monitoring.

Elections are being held for 45 senators. Pakistan's official APP news agency says nine more candidates are standing unopposed.

The voting takes place in four provincial assemblies - Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Baluchistan - with each choosing 12 senators.

All four provinces reserve two seats for women, two for technocrats and one for minorities.

Four senators for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and two for the Islamabad Capital Territory will be chosen by members of parliament.