By-elections for the National Assembly to be skipped by coalition partners in KP.
For the constituencies of NA-22 Mardan, NA-24 Charsadda, and NA-31 Peshawar, the PDM would not put forth a candidate to file nomination papers.
PESHAWAR: On Saturday, the coalition government’s members declared that they would run in the upcoming by-elections for three National Assembly seats in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P).
Pakistan Democratic Party K-P spokesperson Abdul Jalil Jan remarked that “it is our policy and decision that we would not participate in any by-elections”, adding that the “coalition parties are presently preparing for general elections and will participate in them”.
There won’t be any candidates running for the NA-22 Mardan, NA-24 Charsadda, or NA-31 Peshawar seats from the parties represented by the PDM.
In the 2018 general elections, PTI candidates Ali Muhammad Khan, Fazal Muhammad Khan, and Haji Shaukat Ali took home the three seats K-P.
Imran Khan, the leader of the PTI, won the by-elections held on October 16 of last year on the aforementioned three seats following the departure of the PTI lawmakers from the NA.
The ousted prime minister, however, having neglected to take an oath, therefore the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) declared these seats vacant.
When the polls supervisory body sought deliberations regarding the dates for holding elections for the provincial assembly of Punjab and K-P, the electoral watchdog declared last month that by-elections on 31 vacant seats in the NA would be held on March 19.
Read more about the CDA’s efforts to remove PTI lawmakers from Parliament Lodges here.
The ECP announced the schedule for the 31 NA by-elections. It states that nomination papers must be filed between February 10 and February 14 and will be reviewed on February 18.
Up until March 1, the candidates could withdraw their nomination papers. The candidates would then receive their election insignia on March 2. The ECP announced that March 19 will be election day for the empty constituencies.
