By-polls on 6 NA, 17 PA seats on April 21

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Wednesday issued by-polls schedule for 23 assembly seats, where polling could not be held on February 8 or the seat fell vacant after the general election, and fixed April 21 for polling.

The by-elections will be held in six constituencies of the National Assembly, 12 provincial assembly constituencies in Punjab, two each in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan and one in the Sindh province.

According to the schedule, candidates can file their nomination papers from March 16 to 18, whereas the nominated candidates’ names will be published on March 18.

Similarly, the scrutiny of papers by the returning officers (ROs) will be conducted on March 21, while appeals may be filed against rejection or acceptance of nomination till March 25. The appellate tribunal will have to decide on the appeals by March 28 and the revised list of candidates will be issued the same day.

Candidates will be able to withdraw from the by-election by March 29 and the next day, the candidates will be allotted election symbols.

The NA seats on which by-elections will take place, owing to different reasons, 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 electoral process for NA-8 Bajaur and PK-22 Bajaur-IV was suspended after a candidate contesting as an independent was shot dead. The NA-44 DI Khan seat had fallen vacant after Ali Amin Gandapur decided to retain his provincial assembly seat from DI Khan. Subsequently, he was elected chief minister Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

Similarly, like Gandapur, NA-119 Lahore-III seat was vacated after Maryam Nawaz went for the provincial seat, PP-159, which she had won, whereas NA-132 Kasur fell vacant after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif decided to retain his NA-123 Lahore-VII seat, although he had returned also from PP-158. His seat in the provincial assembly had also fallen 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 Chairman Bilawal-Bhutto Zardari decided to keep the seat he won in Larkana, while President Asif Ali Zardari vacated his seat, NA-207, after his election as the head of state.

The Article 43 (2) of the Constitution reads, “The President shall not be a candidate for election as a member of [Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament)] or a Provincial Assembly; and, if a member of [Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament)] or a Provincial Assembly is elected as President, his seat in [Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament)] or, as the case may be, the Provincial Assembly shall become vacant on the day he enters upon his office.”

The 12 provincial constituencies of the Punjab Assembly where the electoral process will be conducted are: PP-22 (Chakwal-Talagang), PP-32 (Gujrat), PP-36 (Wazirabad), PP-54 (Narowal), PP-93 (Bhakkar), PP-139 (Sheikhupura), PP-147 (Lahore), PP-149 (Lahore), PP-158 (Lahore), PP-164 (Lahore), PP-266 (Rahim Yar Khan) and PP-290 (DG Khan).

Likewise, PK-22 (Bajaur) and PK-91 (Kohat) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, PB-20, (Khuzdar) and PB-22 (Lasbela) of Balochistan Assembly and PS-80 (Dadu) of Sindh Assembly will also see by-polls.

Meanwhile, the ECP made all preparations for holding by-elections on six Senate seats on Thursday (today). These seats had fallen vacant following issuance of victory notifications of senators as members of the National Assembly or provincial legislatures.

Former premier Yusuf Raza Gilani, whose Senate seat had fallen vacant under Article 223(4) of the Constitution following his election as an MNA, is again contesting for a Senate seat. He is being speculated as the potential candidate for the slot of chairman Senate.