Pakistani politicians elect senators

Votes are being counted in Pakistan's Senate elections, with the beleaguered ruling party due to make big gains. Members of parliament's lower house and provincial assemblies elect the 104-seat Senate. About half of the senators are being replaced as their terms end. If the Pakistan People's Party makes the gains expected it will control the upper house for the next three years. 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 Zardari 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 Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to have corruption proceedings reopened against Mr Zardari. Several leaders of the PPP, which Mr Zardari leads, have said publicly that opposition parties have conspired to stop the Senate election. Results are expected later on Friday. BBC correspondents say if Mr Zardari's party does as well as expected, it will have the power to block legislation introduced by whoever wins parliamentary elections due by early next year. 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. Pakistan's national and provincial parliaments elect half the members of the Senate every three years. The elected senators have a six-year term. Parliamentary polls are due in 2013 but opposition parties have been calling for early elections, blaming the current administration for many of Pakistan's problems, such as economic stagnation and an energy crisis. From BBC