By-elections are being held today across six National Assembly seats and another seven in the Punjab Assembly, with most of the activity centred in Haripur and Faisalabad, though Chak Jhumra, Muzaffargarh, Sargodha and DG Khan also have busy contests lined up.
In Haripur, nine candidates are trying their luck in NA-18. PTI-backed independent Shehryar is among the front-runners, with PML-N’s Babar Nawaz Khan and PPP’s Erum Fatima also in the mix.
Six other independents have filed their papers as well. The constituency has a little over 753,000 voters, and 602 polling stations are operating today. The seat had fallen vacant after Omar Ayub’s disqualification in a May 9 case.
Faisalabad has a busy day with four seats up for grabs. NA-96 alone has 16 people contesting, with PML-N’s Talal Badar Chaudhry facing a long list of independents.
There are 587,124 registered voters here and 345 polling stations. The seat was left empty after PTI’s Rai Haider Ali Kharal was unseated.
NA-104 is a smaller field, where PML-N’s Raja Daniyal is up against four independents. The constituency has around 557,000 voters and 375 polling stations.
Chairman Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), Sahibzada Hamid Raza, had held this seat before his disqualification. PP-116 features PML-N’s Rana Shehryar and five independents.
There are 190 polling stations for roughly 276,000 voters. The seat became vacant after Muhammad Ismail Sila’s disqualification in the May 9 case.
In PP-115, five candidates are in the race. PML-N’s Tahir Jamil is the main party-backed candidate, while the rest are independents. The seat was vacated after PTI’s Sheikh Shahid Javed was disqualified.
PP-98 has ten candidates. A close contest is expected between PML-N’s Azad Ali Tabbasum and independent Muhammad Ajmal Cheema.
There are 171 polling stations for nearly 290,000 voters. The seat had fallen empty after PTI’s Junaid Afzal Sahi was unseated and later sentenced in a May 9 case.
In PP-269, 17 candidates are trying their chances. PPP’s Alamdar Abbas Qureshi faces competition from independents Iqbal Khan and Abdul Hai Dasti.
The seat opened up after Qureshi stepped down before a recount request by Iqbal Khan was to be taken up.
PP-73 has five candidates in total. PML-N’s Mian Sultan Ali Ranjha is up against four independents. The seat was declared vacant after PTI’s Ansar Iqbal Heral was disqualified and later given a 10-year sentence in a May 9 case.
Eight candidates are contesting NA-185. A close fight is likely between PML-N’s Mahmood Qadir Leghari and PPP’s Sardar Dost Muhammad Khosa.
There are 226 polling stations set up — separate stations for men and women, along with mixed ones. The seat became vacant after Zartaj Gul Wazir’s disqualification.