The voting process through secret ballot has begun for Senate elections on 37 seats at the Parliament House which will be continued till 5:00 pm today, Aaj News Reported.

It is pertinent to mention here that lawmakers will be casting votes in one of the country's most hotly contested Senate elections where the transparency of the electoral process has become a key issue.

The MPAs will be voting on 37 vacant seats of the Senate with 11 senators elected unopposed from Punjab. Now polling will be held for 12 seats each of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 11 of Sindh and two of the federal capital.

Here’s a breakdown of the seats up for grabs:

Punjab Assembly: 11 Sindh Assembly: 11 KP Assembly: 12 Balochistan Assembly: 12 Islamabad: 2

Senate seats are reserved for women, minorities, and technocrats. The rest are called general seats.

MPAs from the three provincial assemblies will cast their vote for the candidates fielded from Balochistan, KP and Sindh, while MNAs will choose the representative from the federal capital.

A total of 78 candidates are vying for the seats from Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Islamabad. All Senate candidates from Punjab were elected unopposed last month after disqualification or withdrawal of papers by other contestants.