ECP issues schedule for by-elections on 31 National Assembly seats vacated by PTI

ISLAMABAD – The Election Commission of Pakistan on Friday issued a schedule to hold by-elections on 31 vacant National Assembly seats next month.

The by-elections on 31 vacant seats of the National Assembly would be held on Sunday, March 19, as the commission directed candidates to submit their nomination papers before February 14. Scrutiny of nomination papers filed by candidates will be held on February 18.

It said candidates would be able to withdraw the nomination papers by March 1 and election symbols would be allotted to the candidates on March 2.

The development comes as former ruling PTI has decided that its chairman Imran Khan will not participate in the by-polls, in another u-turn as the PTI chief earlier decided to set another record by contesting the by-elections for all the seats of the National Assembly.

The recent development comes as National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf accepted the en masse resignations of dozens of PTI members.

PTI members submitted their resignations back in 2022 following Imran Khan’s ouster.