ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan People`s Party (PPP) completed a marathon process of interviews of candidates for the upcoming Senate elections, scheduled to be held on March 11.

According to party sources, the parliamentary board has finalised the names of a number of party heavyweights for the upper house.

Over 50 per cent of PPP senators in the Senate 21 out of 41 will retire next month.

Since the Senate elections alwaysdepend on party position in the four provincial assemblies and the National Assembly, the PPP is expected to retain almost all eight seats from Sindh due to its majority in the provincial assembly.

However, the party`s chances of securing Senate seats from other provinces do not seem bright and it may only be able to manage a total of 28 seats in the upper house for the next five years.

The sources said that the parliamentary board had approved the names of Farooq Naek, Rehman Malik and Abdul Qadir Patel, among others, for Senate seats.

There were reports that former ambassador to the US Sherry Rehman may also be picked for a Senate seat, but she told Dawn that she had not applied for a ticket because she was not eligible for it.

`My two-year grace period, which began when I left the office of ambassador, will end on May 20.PPP spokesperson Farhatullah Babar told Dawn that the parliamentary board chaired by Makhdoom Amin Fahim and consisting of Raja Pervez Ashraf, Syed Qaim Ali Shah and Faryal Taplur had completed the interview process and finalised some names.

However, he added, these could be changed even a day before the elections.

`I reveal the names of candidates finalised by the board because they can be changed at any time,` he said.

He said that at least 105 Senate hopefuls had appeared before the board only in Sindh.

Observers believe that even though the party would lose quite a few seats this time around, it would still remain the largest opposition party in parliament and could even challenge the ruling PML-N in the elections for the offices of chairman and the deputy chairman ofthe Senate.

Mr Babar said the party expected a total number of 28 PPP senators to be in the house after elections are held in March.

Among the 21 retiring PPP senators, eight are from Sindh, five from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, three each from Punjab and Balochistan and two from Islamabad.

The PPP senators retiring in March are: Jahangir Badar, Kazim Khan and Sughra Imam from Punjab; Rehman Malil(, Farooq Naek, Salim Mandviwala, Islamuddin Sheikh, Maula Bux Chandio, Abdul Qayyum Soomro, Gul Mohammad Lot and Almas Perveen from Sindh; Gulzar Ahmed Khan, Waqar Ahmed Khan, Sardar Ali Khan, Adnan Khan and Farhat Abbas from KP; Sabir Baloch, Mir Yousuf Badini and Surriya Amiruddin from Balochistan and Nayyar Bokhari and Dr Saeeda Iqbal from the federal capital.