The schedule for the by-elections, which are scheduled to take place on April 21 for six National Assembly seats and seventeen provincial assembly seats, was released by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday.
The chief electoral body published a notification outlining the schedule of elections for the NA and PA members that are up for reelection next week.
By-elections are scheduled for six NA, twelve Punjab Assembly, two KP Assembly, two Balochistan Assembly, and one Sindh Assembly seat, according to the announcement.
There are 50 candidates running for NA seats out of the 239 candidates scheduled to run in the 2019 by-elections. Notably, Pakistan Peoples Party leader Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari won the NA-207 seat without a challenge, and Zubair Ahmed Junejo, another PPP leader, also won the PS-80 Dadu seat without any resistance.
As a result, 154 candidates are running for Punjab Assembly seats, 12 candidates are running for Balochistan Assembly seats, and 23 candidates are running for K-P Assembly seats in the by-polls.
The provincial election commissioner has received polling materials, and all district and returning officers (ROs) are conscientiously carrying out their responsibilities in accordance with the timeline for the by-polls, an ECP official stated.
Additionally, the representative mentioned that ballots had been printed since March 30.
According to the spokeswoman, the commission is also working with the ministries of defense and interior as well as local law enforcement agencies (LEAs) to guarantee that the by-elections are held peacefully.
Several National Assembly (NA) seats, including 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, are scheduled to hold by-elections.
The unfortunate passing of an independent candidate running in Bajaur’s NA-8 and PK-22 constituencies forced the suspension of the polls.
Furthermore, the newly elected KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur chose to keep his provincial seat from DI Khan, leaving the NA-44 seat empty.
When Maryam decided to run for the provincial seat she had won, NA-119 Lahore-III was left empty; however, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif decided to retain his NA-123 Lahore-VII seat, leaving NA-132 Kasur open.
In addition, Prime Minister Shehbaz won the seats PP-158 and PP-164 in the Punjab Assembly; however, the provincial assembly seats were left unfilled as a result of his decision to hold onto his NA seat.
In addition, President Asif Ali Zardari resigned his seat upon becoming the head of state, and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto kept the seat he won in Larkana, leaving the NA seats from Sindh’s constituencies, NA-196 Kamber Shadadkot-I and NA-207 Shaheed Benazirabad-I, vacant.
The following provincial assembly seats are scheduled for by-elections: PP-22 Chakwal-Cum-Talagang in Punjab; PP-32 Gujrat-VI; PP-36 Wazirabad-II; PP-54 Narowal-I; 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.
