Infosette (Karachi) – Polling for by-election in Punjab Assembly in Twenty constituencies has concluded, and people within polling stations are now allowed to vote.
The polls opened at 8 a.m. and lasted until 5 p.m., but in several districts, voting was halted due to clashes.
The 20 seats became vacant after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) “de-seated” 25 PTI dissident lawmakers on May 23 for voting against PML-Hamza N’s Shahbaz in the Punjab chief minister’s election. This included five legislators elected on seats reserved for women and minorities.
By-elections were held in 20 Punjab Assembly constituencies, including PP-7 Rawalpindi, PP-83 Khushab, PP-90 Bhakkar, PP-97 Faisalabad; PP-125, PP-127 Jhang, PP-140 Sheikhupura, PP-158, 167, 168, 170 Lahore; PP-202 Sahiwal, PP-217 Multan, PP-224 Lodh
In the by-elections, a total of 4.57 million registered voters, including 2.46 million women, were eligible to vote. Across the 20 constituencies, 3140 polling stations, including 731 male, 700 female, and 1700 combined polling stations, had been established.
For the by-elections, a total of 9,562 polling stations had been set up. The ECP had designated 1204 polling stations as sensitive and 696 as extremely sensitive.
Lahore and Multan polling stations had also been designated as sensitive. Provincial Election Commissioner Saeed Gul stated that the Election Commission was completely neutral and that the allegations were false; they were acting in accordance with the Constitution and the law.
Punjab Assembly Number Game
The Punjab Assembly has 371 members, 20 of which are currently vacant, bringing the total number of MPAs in the Punjab Assembly to 351.
The PML-N currently has 163 members. On the other side is the Opposition, or the PTI, which currently has 163 MPAs.
There are five independents in the house, including former Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar, who is unlikely to vote. The PPP has seven MPAs, the PML-Q has ten, and the Rah-e-Haq party has one