Islamabad: Former Prime Minister and Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan has decided against contesting by-polls on the National Assembly seats himself.
Last month, the Senior Vice-Presient of the PTI, Fawad Chaudhry, had claimed that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf would contest all 33 seats of the National Assembly felt vacant after Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf accepted the resignations of 35 Members of the National Assembly (MNAs). He added that the former premier would be PTI’s sole candidate for these 33 seats.
However, it emerged on Friday that the PTI chief has now directed the former PTI MNAs to submit their papers to contest the by-polls.
It is pertinent to mention that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), on January 27, announced that by-polls for the 33 NA seats would be held on March 16.
The notification by the ECP said that the returning officers would issue a public notice in this regard on February 3. Candidates can file their nomination papers with the RO from Feb 6-8.
“The names of the nominated candidates will be published on Feb 9,” the electoral watchdog had added.
