Islamabad, Mar 2 (IANS): The daylong polling for 45 Senate seats, including four newly-added seats in the upper house for minorities, began Friday morning in Pakistan, a media report said.

The voting is taking place in the 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, Geo News reported.

Four senators for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and two for the Islamabad Capital Territory will be chosen by members of the National Assembly.

As many as 98 candidates are in the fray. The new senators will replace 50 outgoing senators who retire March 12 after completing a six-year term.

The Election Commission Thursday declared nine candidates as elected unopposed. Hence, polling is being held for 45 seats, including for four newly-added minorities seats, in the upper house.