Vote for PTI candidates in Senate election, PM tells MPAs

Prime Minister Imran Khan instructed on Monday PTI officials to keep an eye on the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa MPAs for the forthcoming Senate election.

In a meeting, PM Khan told KP lawmakers that they had to vote for Senate candidates nominated by the party.

He urged them to put greed aside and vote for their ideology. Those who sold their votes in the 2018 Senate election had to face embarrassment because of that, he noted.

The election on 48 Senate seats will be held on March 3, according to the Election Commission of Pakistan. The ruling PTI wants the election to be held through an open ballot. It has already issued a presidential ordinance for an open vote, but it is subject to the Supreme Court’s approval.

The ECP and opposition parties have opposed the move, saying that any change in the procedure should be done through a constitutional amendment.

The ruling party says the move is aimed at stopping horse trading in the Senate election. After the 2018 election, the PTI had expelled 20 MPAs for selling their votes.