Pakistan Lawmakers Vote In Senate Elections

Pakistani lawmakers are voting for members of the Senate -- the indirectly-elected upper house of the federal parliament.

Around 740 members of Pakistan's provincial assemblies are voting on who will fill the 45 seats up for election in the Senate.

Pakistan's four provinces each hold 23 seats in the 104-member Senate, with the capital region Islamabad holding four seats and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) in the northwest having eight.

Equal provincial membership is aimed at preventing domination of the Senate by one province.

Some seats are reserved for women and non-Muslim minorities.

The vote on March 2 was held amid opposition to President Asif Ali Zardari's civilian government, which is blamed by opposition parties for corruption and mishandling of the economy.

With AFP reporting