The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has revealed its lineup of candidates for Punjab by-elections for provincial and national assemblies, slated for April 21. Acting President of PTI’s Punjab chapter, Hammad Azhar, unveiled the list, including contenders for six National Assembly (NA) and twelve Provincial Assembly (PA) seats.
Amidst speculation, it remains uncertain whether the PTI-backed Candidates for Punjab By-elections (National Assembly or Provincial assembly) will run independently or under the banner of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC). This uncertainty stems from the party’s loss of its ‘bat’ electoral symbol following the Supreme Court’s ruling on the party’s intra-party polls, deemed unconstitutional by the Election Commission.
Key candidates for the April 21 by-polls include Shahzad Farooq for NA-119 (Lahore), Sardar Muhammad Hussain Dogar for NA-132 (Kasur), and Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi for PP-32 (Gujrat), among others.
The by-elections, necessitated by seats remaining vacant or polling being unable to take place on February 8, were scheduled across 23 assembly constituencies nationwide. This includes six NA seats, twelve in Punjab, two each in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, and one in Sindh.
The electoral process has followed a rigorous timeline set by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), with nomination papers accepted from March 16 to 18, followed by scrutiny conducted on March 21. Appeals against the rejection or acceptance of nominations could be filed until March 25, with the appellate tribunal set to decide by March 28.
March 29 marks the deadline for candidate withdrawals, after which election symbols will be allotted the following day, setting the stage for the final sprint towards the April 21 by-polls. Stay tuned as the political landscape in Punjab undergoes another significant shift ahead of these crucial elections.