By-Election Polling Open Until 5 PM in 13 Constituencies

By-elections are being held today in 6 National Assembly and 7 Punjab Assembly constituencies, where arrangements have been finalized and election materials have been delivered to the relevant centers.

Staff have been deployed at polling stations in Haripur, Lahore, Faisalabad, Sahiwal, Dera Ghazi Khan, Sargodha, Mianwali and Muzaffargarh.

Polling began at 8 am and will continue until 5 pm, during which time voters will cast their votes in favor of their candidates.

A total of 2,792 polling stations have been established, of which 408 have been declared highly sensitive while 1,032 have been declared sensitive. More than 20,000 security personnel will be on duty to ensure law and order.

Nine candidates are contesting in NA-18 Haripur, where a tough contest is expected between PTI-backed independent candidate Shahrnaz, PML-N’s Babar Nawaz Khan and PPP’s Irum Fatima. The seat fell vacant after Omar Ayub’s conviction and disqualification in the May 9 case.

There are 16 candidates in the fray in Faisalabad’s NA-96 constituency, with PML-N’s Talal Badar Chaudhry competing against 15 independent candidates. The seat fell vacant following the disqualification of Rai Haider Ali Kharal.

Four independent candidates are in the fray against PML-N’s Raja Daniyal in NA-104 Faisalabad. This seat fell vacant after the conviction of Sunni Ittehad Council Chairman Hamid Raza in the May 9 case.

Eight candidates are in the fray in NA-185, Dera Ghazi Khan, where a close contest is expected between PML-N’s Mehmood Qadir Leghari and PPP’s Sardar Dost Muhammad Khosa. The seat fell vacant following the conviction and disqualification of Zartaj Gul Wazir.