(Web Desk) – The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has finalised arrangements to conduct by-elections on five national and 16 provincial assembly seats across Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan amid stringent security measures on Sunday (today).
Polling will be conducted – from 8 am until 5 pm without any break – across five National Assembly seats, 12 Punjab Assembly seats, two Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly seats and two Balochistan Assembly seats.
Approximately 2.55 million Pakistanis are expected to participate in voting for the NA constituencies, while around 3.61 million individuals will cast their votes for 16 provincial assembly seats nationwide.
The ECP provided 6.23 million ballot papers to the relevant returning officers (ROs) for the by-elections. The ROs handed over election materials to presiding officers from their camp offices on Saturday.
NO INTERNET SERVICE
Cellular and internet services will remain suspended in 13 cities of Punjab during the by-elections. The Punjab Home Department wrote a letter to the Ministry of Interior seeking suspension of internet.
Cellular and internet services will remain suspended in Lahore, Sheikhupura, Kasur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Talagang, Gujrat, Alipur, Zafarwal, Bhakkar, Chakwal, Sadiqabad, Alipur Chattha and Kot Chattha.
MONITORING AND CONTROL ROOM SET UP
According to a spokesperson of the ECP, an Election Monitoring and Control Centre has been established to monitor the by-elections. The center will have the facility for people to contact and register their complaints regarding the election.
The spokesperson said a prompt action would be taken to resolve the complaints in a timely manner. For this purpose, trained staff has been appointed in the control centre.
Control centres have been set up at four levels for registration of voter complaints and their prompt resolution.
FACE-OFF
In PP-22 Chakwal, Talagang tehsil, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has fielded Falak Sher Awan, while from the Sunni Ittehad Council, Muhammad Nasir Ahmad will contest.
In PP-32 Gujar Khan VI, the PML-N has fielded Musa Ali, while from Sunni Ittehad Council, Pervez Ali will contest.
In PP-36 Wazirabad II, the PML-N has fielded Adnan Afzal while the Sunni Ittehad Council has fielded M Fiaz.
In PP-54 Narowal 1, Ahmad Iqbal Chaudhry from the PML-N will contest against Awais Qasim of the Sunni Ittehad Council.
In PP-93 Bhakkar V, Sayyed Akbar Khan from the PML-N will compete against Sikandar Ahmad Khan of the Sunni Ittehad Council.
In PP-139 Sheikhupura IV, Rana Afzal Hussain from the PML-N will face off against Ejaz Hussain of the Sunni Ittehad Council.
In PP-147 Lahore III, Muhammad Riaz from the PML-N will compete against Muhammad Khan Madni of the Sunni Ittehad Council and PTI.
In PP-149 Lahore V, IPP candidate Muhammad Shoaib Siddiqui, supported by the PML-N, will face off against Zeeshan Rashid, the candidate of the Sunni Ittehad Council.
In PP-158 Lahore XIV, Muhammad Nawaz Chaudhry from the PML-N will face off against Moonis Elahi of the Sunni Ittehad Council.
In PP-164 Lahore XX, Rashid Minhas from the PML-N will face off against Muhammad Yousaf of the Sunni Ittehad Council.
In PP-266 Rahim Yar Khan VII, Muhammad Safdar Khan Laghari from the PML-N will face off against Chaudhry Samiullah Jatt from the Sunni Ittehad Council.
In PP-290 Dera Ghazi Khan V, Ali Ahmad Laghari from the PML-N will compete Sardar Muhammad Mahiuddin Khosa of the Sunni Ittehad Council and Muneer Ahmed Jalbani of the Pakistan Peoples Party.
In PB-20 Khuzdar III, Sanaullah from the Pakistan Peoples Party and Mir Jehanzeb Mengal from the BNP will compete.
In PB-22 Lasbela, Muhammad Zareen Khan Magsi from the PML-N and Muhammad Hassan from the Pakistan Peoples Party will compete.
In PB-50 Kalla Abdullah III, Haji Muhammad Nawaz Kakar from the JUI-F, Mirwaiz Khan Achakzai from the PkMAP and Engineer Zamerak Khan from the ANP will compete.
In PK-22 Bajaur IV, Guldad Khan from the Sunni Ittehad Council, Abid Khan from the JI, Shah Nasir Khan from the ANP, and Abdullah from the PPP will compete.
In PK-91 Kohat 2, Dawood Shah from the Sunni Ittehad Council and Safiya Bano from the JI will compete.
In NA-8 Bajaur I, Zeemar Hussain from the PML-N, Faisal Amin Khan from the Sunni Ittehad Council, and Ziaur Rahman from the JUI-P will compete.
In NA-44 DI Khan I, Zameer Hussain from the PML-N, Faisal Amin Khan from the Sunni Ittehad Council, and Ziaur Rahman from the JUI-P will compete.
NA-119 Lahore III will see Ali Parvez Malik from the PML-N and Shahzad Farooq from the Sunni Ittehad Council competing.
In NA-132 Kasur II, Rashid Ahmad Khan from the PML-N will compete against Sardar Muhammad Hussain Dogar from the Sunni Ittehad Council.
In NA-196 Qambar Shahdadkot I, Khursheed Ahmed Junejo from the Pakistan Peoples Party is the leading contestant.
21 SEATS UP FOR GRABS
Elections were originally scheduled for 23 constituencies. However, the results of two of those seats, one provincial and one national, have already been announced.
According to the results, Aseefa Bhutto Zardari was elected unopposed in NA-207 Shaheed Benazirabad, while Zubair Ahmad Junejo was elected in PS-80 Dadu.
The National Assembly seats which will undergo by-polls are 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.
Elections on NA-8 Bajaur and PK-22 Bajaur-IV were suspended after a candidate contesting as independent on these constituencies in the general election was shot dead.
Meanwhile, the NA-44 seat fell vacant after KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur opted to retain his provincial seat from DI Khan to become the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The NA-119 Lahore-III seat was vacated by Maryam Nawaz after she opted to retain the provincial seat which she had won, while NA-132 Kasur seat fell vacant after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif decided to retain his NA-123 Lahore-VII seat.
PM Shehbaz had also won Punjab Assembly seats PP-158 and PP-164 but since he retained his NA seat, the provincial assembly seats fell 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 are 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.
As many as 174 candidates are in the fray in the by-elections for 12 provincial constituencies from Punjab where the number of voters is 4,044,552 and 2,601 polling stations have been established.
According to the ECP, there are 1,471,000 voters in the by-elections for two provincial constituencies of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 49 candidates are in the field for which 892 polling stations have been established, of which 139 are sensitive.
In NA-196 in Sindh, two candidates are in the fray, 423,781 voters will exercise their right to vote and 303 polling stations have been set up, out of which 158 are sensitive.
According to the ECP, by-elections will be held for two provincial constituencies 20 and 22 in Balochistan, 396,246 voters will exercise their right to vote in the province, and 354 polling stations have been established.
Nine candidates including Ali Pervaiz and Shehzad Farooq are competing from National Assembly NA -119 while 11 candidates including PML-N candidate Malik Riaz and PTI-backed Muhammad Khan Madani are competing in PP-147.
Apart from this, 14 candidates including Muhammad Shoaib Siddiqui and Qaiser Shehzad of the Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party are conteting election from PP -149, 22 candidates including Chaudhry Nawaz from PP -158 and Moonis Elahi of Sunni Ittehad Council are facing each other.
20 candidates are contesting from PP-164 including PML-N leader Rashid Minhas and Muhammad Yusuf of the Sunni Ittehad Council.
ELECTION CAMPAIGN
The election campaign for by-elections in 21 constituencies of national and provincial assemblies of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan concluded on Friday night. The ECP said the candidates who continued engaging in political activities after this deadline would face legal consequences.
Additionally, the ECP called upon the media and the public to work together to uphold a free, fair, and transparent election process. The commission reminded the candidates participating in the by-elections of Section 182 of the Election Act, 2017. This section prohibits individuals from organising, attending, or participating in any public meetings or processions within the constituency for a period of 48 hours after the polls end, until midnight.
The ECP cautioned that those who breach these regulations could be subject to penalties such as imprisonment for a maximum of two years, a fine of up to Rs100,000, or both.