ECP announces by-election schedule for vacant seats

• By-polls on vacant NA and provincial assembly seats on April 21.
• Vacant seats include 6 NA and 15 provincial seats in four provinces.
• Candidates can file nomination papers by March 18.

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Wednesday announced the schedule for the by-elections on the national and provincial assembly seats that had been left vacant following the February 8 general elections.

According the electoral authority, the by-polls on the vacant seats will be held across the country on April 21, 2024.

The by-elections will be conducted on six National Assembly (NA) seats, 12 provincial assembly seats in Punjab, two each in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan assemblies and one in Sindh Assembly, the ECP stated.

As per the schedule, candidates can file their nomination papers from March 16-18. The nominated candidates' names will be published on March 18.  

Meanwhile, the scrutiny of the papers by the returning officers (RO) will be held on March 21 while candidates, whose papers have been rejected, can file appeals on the RO's decision till March 25. 

The appellate tribunal must then decide on the appeals by March 28 and the revised list of candidates will be issued the same day. 

Candidates who wish to withdraw from the polls can do so by March 29 and the next day — March 30 — running candidates will be allotted election symbols. 

The polling will be held on April 21. 

Why are the by-polls being held?

The NA seats on which by-elections will take place include NA-8 Bajaur, NA-44 Dera Ismail Khan-I, NA-119 Lahore-III, NA-132 Kasur-II, NA-196 Kamber Shadadkot-I and NA-207 Shaheed Benazirabad-I.

The elections on NA-8 Bajaur and PK-22 Bajaur-IV were suspended after a candidate contesting as an independent on these constituencies was was shot dead.

Meanwhile, NA-44 seat fell vacant after newly-elected KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur opted to retain his provincial seat from DI Khan.

The NA-119 Lahore-III seat was vacated after Maryam went for the provincial seat which she had won, while NA-132 Kasur fell vacant after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif decided to retain his NA-123 Lahore-VII seat.

PM Shehbaz had also won on Punjab Assembly seats — PP-158 and PP-164 — but since he opted his NA seat, the provincial assembly seats were left vacant. 

Moreover, the NA seats from Sindh's constituencies, NA-196 Kamber Shadadkot-I and NA-207 Shaheed Benazirabad-I, were vacated after Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto retained the seat he won in Larkana, while President Asif Ali Zardari gave up his seat following his election as the head of state.

The other provincial assembly seats on which by-polls will be held include Punjab's PP-22 Chakwal-Cum-Talagang, PP-32 Gujrat-VI, PP-36 Wazirabad-II, PP-54 Narowal-|, PP-93 Bhakkar-V, PP-139 Sheikhupura-IV, PP-147 Lahore-III, PP-149 Lahore-V, PP-158 Lahore-XIV, PP-164 Lahore-XX, PP-266 Rahim Yar Khan-XII, PP-290 Dera Ghazi Khan-V; KP's PK-22 Bajaur-IV, PK-91 Kohat-II; Balochistan's PB-20 Khuzdar-III, PB-22 Lasbela; and Sindh's PS-80 Dadu-I.

Balochistan's PB-20 and PB-22 seats, which were won by Mohammad Akhtar Mengal and Jam Kamal Khan, were left vacant after both the elected representatives retained their NA-256 Khuzdar and NA-257 Hub-cum-Lasbela-cum-Awaran seats.

In Punjab, the PP-22 seats was vacated by Sardar Ghulam Abbas who retained his NA-50 seat, while Chaudhry Salik Hussain gave up PP-32 and went for NA-64. The PP-36 seat was vacated after Muhammad Ahmed Chattha opted for NA-66.

Federal Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal went for NA-76 Narowal-II and gave up the PP-54 seat he won. The PP-93 seat was vacated after Muhammad Aamir Inayat Shahani retained the PP-92 seat.

The PP-139 and PP-147 seats were left empty after Rana Tanveer Hussain and Hamza Shahbaz went for NA-114 and NA-118.

The PP-149 seat was vacated by Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party's (IPP) Abdul Aleem Khan retained the NA-117 seat he had won.

Elections on PP-266 poll were postponed after the candidate passed away, while PP-290 was vacated after Awais Leghari retained his NA-186 DG Khan-III seat.

The PS-80 Dadu seat was vacated after PPP candidate Abdul Aziz Junejo passed away on February 13 just days after the general polls were held.