By-elections underway for vacant local govt seats in seven Balochistan districts

QUETTA (Dunya News) - Polling is underway for by-elections on local government seats that fell vacant over the past year across seven districts of Balochistan.

According to the Provincial Election Commission, the by-elections are being held in Zhob, Sherani, Loralai, Barkhan, Kalat, Khuzdar, and Surab.

A total of 25 candidates are contesting for 16 vacant seats, with 106 general councilors eligible to cast their votes. Polling will continue until 4 p.m.

Among the vacant seats, six are reserved for women with 15 candidates in the race, two labor seats have four contenders, one farmer seat has three candidates, and three candidates are contesting for seven non-Muslim seats.

It is noteworthy that the last local government elections in 32 districts of Balochistan were held on May 29, 2022. Under local government laws, by-elections are conducted annually for any vacant seats in the province’s local councils.