Polling for the Senate elections in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly has come to a halt.

According to sources, voting has been delayed due to disagreements between the government and opposition over seat-sharing formulas and other related matters.

While the polling setup has been completed in the Jirga Hall, sources say that members of the assembly have not yet begun casting their votes. High-level negotiations are currently underway between the government and opposition, with Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, Opposition Leader Dr. Ibadullah, provincial ministers, and key members of opposition parties participating in the talks.

Polling has commenced for by-elections on 11 vacant Senate seats in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with all 145 members of the provincial assembly set to cast their votes throughout the day.

The opposition has 53 members in the provincial assembly, while the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has 92 seats. Elections are being held on 11 Senate seats, including 7 general, 2 women and 2 reserved seats for technocrats.

It should be noted that an agreement was reached between the government and the opposition on the distribution of seats yesterday, under which the government has been given 6 seats and the opposition 5 seats.

The Election Commission has issued an election code of conduct for the polling. According to the said code of conduct, there will be a complete ban on the use of mobile phones or any type of electronic device in polling stations, while taking a picture of the ballot paper has also been strictly prohibited.

Speaking to the media after the meeting, Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur said that buying and selling in the Senate elections is not right in any way. We have agreed with the opposition to give six seats to the government and five to the opposition as promised.

Meanwhile, four of the five disgruntled PTI candidates have announced their withdrawal from the Senate elections. Those who withdrew include Waqas Orakzai, Irshad Hussain, Irfan Saleem and Ayesha Bano.

Irshad Hussain wrote a formal letter to the Election Commission requesting the withdrawal of his nomination papers and said that this decision was taken in accordance with the decision of the founder and party leadership. According to the Chief Minister’s spokesperson, Khurram Zeeshan is the only disgruntled candidate who has not yet announced his withdrawal.

Waqas Orakzai, while announcing his withdrawal after meeting the Chief Minister, said that withdrawing the papers did not mean that he had deviated from his ideology. He said that Barrister Gohar and Salman Akram Raja assured him that the names of the candidates for the Senate elections were finalized by the founder PTI.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur praised the decision of the disgruntled leaders and said, “Alhamdulillah, Waqas Orakzai respected the decision of the founder, and I am proud that he preferred the ideology of the party over personal interest. This spirit will form the foundation of a new Pakistan free from corruption.”