ISLAMABAD: Outgoing Senator Kulsoom Parveen on Monday succumbed to coronavirus at a private hospital where she was admitted last month after contracting the deadly ailment, less than three months before her scheduled retirement from the Upper House of the Parliament.

Parveen was put on ventilator few days back as her conditioned worsened due to Covid-19. She was elected a senator on women seat from Balochistan on Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) ticket in March 2015. She was one of the 52 senators who were retiring from Senate in the coming March.

Following her death, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is constitutionally bound to hold election on the relevant Senate seat, twice in less than two months-first to fill the vacancy caused by her death and then to hold Senate elections.

Constitutionally, an election at a Senate seat that got vacated on any pretext needs to be held within a month after it fell vacant. Article 224 (5) of the Constitution of Pakistan reads, "When a seat in the Senate has become vacant, an election to fill the seat shall be held within thirty days from the occurrence of the vacancy."

A vacancy of a seat in Senate caused by any reason is categorised as 'casual vacancy' where election needs to be held to fill in the vacant slot. Section 127 of Elections Act 2017 read, "Casual vacancy.-(1) When, before the expiration of the term of the office of a Member elected to the Senate, his seat becomes vacant or is declared vacant or his election to the Senate is declared void, the Commission shall, by notification in the official Gazette, call upon the Members of the Provincial Assembly, the National Assembly or the Members of the National Assembly elected from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, as the case may be, to elect a person for the purpose of filling the vacancy on such date as may be specified in the notification; and the provisions of this Act and the Rules shall apply, in relation to the election of a Member to fill the vacancy."

Meanwhile, President of Pakistan Arif Alvi, Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani, Deputy Chairman Senate Saleem Mandviwalla, Leader of the House in Senate Dr Shahzad Waseem, Leader of the Opposition in Senate Raja Zafar-ul-Haq and other dignitaries offered condolences to Parveen's family over her demise. In their messages, they prayed to Almighty Allah for her forgiveness and patience to the bereaved family.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020