Ahmed Mukhtar Naqshbandi
ISLAMABAD: In what seems to be a well-calculated move, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Friday announced the schedule for by-elections for just 33 national assembly seats.
Election in these constituencies would be held on March 16. These seats had fallen vacant after the speaker national assembly Raja Pervez Ashraf accepted their resignations.
As per the ECP, candidates can file their nominations between February 6-8. The candidates names will be published on February 9 and the returning officers will carry out scrutiny of the nomination papers till February 13, 2023.
The last date to file appeals against the returning officers’ decision on the acceptance or rejection of nomination papers has been set February 16. According to the election schedule, the revised lists of candidates will be published on February 21.
ECP says polling on March 16
The last date to withdraw candidature and release of revised list of candidates is February 22 while the election symbols will be allotted on February 23. March 16 is the polling day.
The constituencies where by-elections will be held include NA-04 Swat-III, NA-53 Islamabad-II, NA-126 Lahore-IV, NA-247 Karachi South-II, NA-17 Haripur-I, NA-54 Islamabad-III, NA-130 Lahore-VIII, NA-250 Karachi West-III, NA-18 Swabi-I, NA-57 Rawalpindi-I, NA-155 Multan-I, NA-252 Karachi West-V, NA-25 Nowshera-I, NA-59 Rawalpindi-III, NA-156 Multan-III.
Moreover, NA-254 Karachi Central-II, NA-26 Nowshera-II, NA-60 Rawalpindi-IV, NA-191 Dera Ghazi Khan-III, NA-256 Karachi Central-IV, NA-32 Kohat, NA-62 Rawalpindi-VI, NA-241 Korangi Karachi-III, NA-265 Quetta-II, NA-38 D.I. Khan-I, NA-63 Rawalpindi-VII, NA-242 Karachi East-I, NA-43 Khyber-I, NA-67 Jhelum-II, NA-243 Karachi East-II, NA-52 Islamabad-I, NA-97 Bhakkar-I, NA-244 Karachi East-III.
The PTI lawmakers had tendered their resignations en masse after the Imran Khan-led government was ousted via a no-confidence motion in April 2022. The Imran-led party had claimed that resignations were accepted by former deputy speaker Qasim Suri.
However, current NA Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf, after approving 11 resignations of PTI lawmakers in July 2022, had stalled the process stating the remaining lawmakers would be summoned individually for verification.
However, contrary to his stance, he quickened the process once PTI, earlier this month, announced its return to the national assembly and “test” the PM through a confidence vote. So far, the resignations of 123 PTI MNAs have been accepted but the ECP announced by-polls on just 33 seats on Friday.
