LAHORE – The ruling PML-N is ahead of PTI-backed SIC’s candidates on the majority of the seats as the vote count continued after the completion of voting in by-elections in 21 National Assembly and Provincial Assembly constituencies in Pakistan on Sunday.

The voting for the first major by-poll, which took place after the February 8 general elections, began at 8 am and continued until 5 pm without any breaks, amid the suspension of mobile phones and incidents of violence in some localities.

The federal government had earlier announced that cellular services would remain temporarily suspended in specific districts of Punjab and Balochistan during the by-elections on April 21-22.

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) issued a statement, saying that the decision has been taken to safeguard the integrity and security of the electoral process. Moreover, at the request of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), the federal government also approved the deployment of Pakistan Army and Civil Armed Forces (CAF) troops during the polling.

The elections are being held on five NA seats, 12 Punjab Assembly seats, two each in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan Assemblies and one in Sindh Assembly. The NA seats include NA-8 and NA-44 (KP) NA-119 and NA-132 (Punjab) and NA-196 (Sindh). Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has won one seat, NA-207, Nawabshah, from where Aseefa Bhutto Zardari has been elected unopposed.

The provincial assembly seats include PK-22 and PK-91 (KP), PB-20, and PB-22 (Balochistan) and PS-80 (Sindh). The Punjab Assembly seats where the by-polls are taking place include PP-32 (Gujrat), PP-36 (Wazirabad), PP-54 (Narowal), PP-93 (Bhakkar), PP-139 (Sheikhupura), PP-147, PP-149, PP-158, PP-164 (Lahore), PP-266 (Rahim Yar Khan), and PP-290 (Dera Ghazi Khan).

NA-119 (Lahore) was vacated by Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Ali Pervez Malik is up against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-backed Sunni Ittehad Council’s (SIC) Shahzad Farooq for the seat. Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan’s (TLP) candidate, Muhammad Zaheer, and six independent candidates are also vying for the seat.

Elections are also being held on PP-147 (Lahore), which PML-N’s Hamza Shehbaz vacated. PML-N’s Malik Riaz, SIC’s Muhammad Madni, Shahrukh Jamal, TLP’s Muhammad Yasin, and eight independent candidates are aiming for the slot. The seat PP-149 (Lahore) was vacated by Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party’s (IPP) Abdul Aleem Khan. IPP’s Shoaib Siddiqui, SIC’s Zeeshan Rashid, TLP’s Muhammad Zaheer, and 11 independents are seeking to win the seat.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vacated NA-132 (Kasur) and two of his provincial assembly seats in Lahore, PP-158, and PP-164, while retaining his NA-123 seat in the National Assembly. A very tough contest is expected in NA-132 in which SIC’s Muhammad Hussain Dogar is contesting against PML-N’s Malik Rasheed Ahmad Khan, whereas the TLP is also in the contest. PML-N’s Chaudhry Muhammad Nawaz, SIC’s Moonis Elahi, TLP’s Muhammad Munir, and 19 independent candidates are vying for the PP-158 seat vacated by PM Shehbaz. Meanwhile, SIC’s Muhammad Yousuf and PML-N’s Rashid Minhas are eyeing the PP-164 slot.

Meanwhile, in Sindh, voting is taking place on NA-196 (Qamber Shadadkot). This seat was vacated by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari. In KP, the polling is taking place on the NA-44 (Dera Ismail Khan) seat, which was left vacant after Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur retained his provincial assembly seat, PK-113. By-poll is also being conducted on the NA-8 (Bajaur) seat, the election for the seat was suspended ahead of the February 8 general elections after one of the candidates Rehan Zeb Khan was murdered.

By-Election 2024 Unofficial Results: