The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Sunday postponed by-polls on 37 National Assembly seats — scheduled for March 16 and 19 — in Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Balochistan and Islamabad, in compliance with the orders issued by various courts. Earlier the electoral watchdog was all set to hold the by-elections on over 80 NA seats across the country this month. It had said that all pending elections for the NA seats would be held this month.
The NA seats fell vacant as the ECP de-notified Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers after Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf accepted their resignations. More than 120 MNAs belonging to the PTI tendered their resignations en masse after Imran Khan’s government was ousted through a no-confidence motion in April last year. The ECP has postponed the by-elections on as many as 24 National Assembly seats scheduled to be held this month. In its notification, the election organising authority said, “Pursuant to the orders dated 3rd March 2023 passed by the Peshawar High Court (PHC), in the writ petition, No.762-P/2023 tided Sher Ali Arbab and others Vs Speaker National Assembly and others and Writ Petition No.763-P/2023.
