Polling is currently underway in 21 constituencies across Pakistan as part of the by-elections, with strict security arrangements in place and internet services shut down to ensure a smooth voting process.
The elections, scheduled for Sunday, cover five National Assembly and 16 provincial Assembly seats across Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan. Heightened security measures have been implemented to address any potential incidents during the voting process.
Polling will continue uninterrupted from 8 am to 5 pm for seats vacated by candidates who won multiple seats or where polling was delayed in the February 8 general elections due to the death of a candidate.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has provided 6.23 million ballot papers to the relevant Returning Officers (ROs) for the by-elections, with approximately 2.55 million voters expected to participate in voting for the five National Assembly constituencies and around 3.61 million individuals casting their votes for 16 provincial assembly seats nationwide.
In Punjab alone, a total of 174 candidates are contesting in the by-elections for 12 provincial constituencies, with the voter count standing at approximately 4.04 million.
The by-elections for two provincial constituencies in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have a total of 1.47 million voters, with 49 candidates in the race and 892 polling stations set up, including 139 identified as sensitive.
In Sindh’s NA-196, two candidates will compete, with 423,781 voters eligible to cast their ballots across 303 polling stations, 158 of which are sensitive.
Additionally, by-elections will take place for two provincial constituencies, PB-20 and PB-22, in Balochistan, where 396,246 voters will participate across 354 designated polling stations.
A total of 96 candidates are vying for various seats, including National Assembly seat NA-119 and provincial assembly seats PP-147, PP-149, PP-158, and PP-164, across the different constituencies.
