Pakistan has declared that by-elections for empty positions in the National and provincial assemblies will take place on April 21st.
Pakistan's election commission declared on Thursday that by-elections for six unoccupied positions in the National Assembly and 17 positions in provincial assemblies are scheduled for April 21. These vacancies arose after candidates, who had won multiple seats in the February 8 general elections, relinquished the surplus seats. According to regulations, a candidate can run for an unlimited number of seats but can only retain one.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) released the timetable for the by-elections for these empty seats in the National Assembly and provincial legislatures on Wednesday.
The ECP outlined that nomination papers for the by-elections could be filed from March 16 to 18, with scrutiny taking place on March 21. Appeals against the nomination papers can be lodged with the ECP until March 25, and the election tribunal will resolve these appeals by March 28. Nomination papers can be withdrawn until March 29. The final list of candidates will be published on March 29, and electoral symbols will be assigned on March 30. The elections themselves will be held on April 21.
In addition to the six vacant National Assembly seats, there are 12 vacancies in the Punjab Assembly, two each in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan legislatures, and one in the Sindh Assembly open for contest. These seats also include one in the National Assembly and three in provincial assemblies where elections were postponed due to candidates' deaths. The completion of these by-elections will mark the conclusion of the general election process for 2024.