Election 2024: By-elections will be held for which seats?

In every election held in Pakistan, several candidates become part of the electoral frenzy for multiple seats, especially the central leaders of the major political parties try their luck for the National and Provincial Assemblies seats from different cities.

After the election, legally, the newly elected member from multiple seats has to hold one seat, while the Election Commission is bound to conduct by-elections in 60 days for the vacant seats.

This phenomenon has also been seen in the recent elections. Shahbaz Sharif, the president of Pakistan Muslim League-N and the prime ministerial candidate, won four seats in the national and provincial assemblies.

Similarly, Chairman Pakistan People’s Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has also won two seats in the National Assembly, while he faced defeat in the third National Assembly seat from Lahore.

By-elections will be held on the eight seats vacated by the Muslim League-N. There will be by-elections on three seats of People’s Party, two seats of PTI and one seat each of Q-League, Stability Pakistan Party and Balochistan National Party.

There are more than 12 constituencies across the country where candidates contesting more than one seat have won. So now, after keeping one of their seats and vacating the rest, the candidates who want to participate in the elections from here on the ticket of the political parties have started contacting.

The largest number of National and Provincial Assembly seats have become vacant in Lahore, on which by-elections will be held.

After winning more than one seat, it has been a tradition for political parties to field their losing key leaders or strong candidates already in those constituencies.

The purpose of contesting elections on more seats by important leaders is either to improve the party’s position or in any case to reach the House.

On which seats will the by-election be held?

According to Election Commission records, by-elections will be held on one and four provincial seats of the vacant National Assembly from Lahore. Shehbaz Sharif, the candidate for the Prime Ministership on behalf of the coalition parties, won from NA-123, NA-132, Kasur Lahore provincial constituencies PP 158 and PP 164. He has decided to vacate NA-132 National Assembly and Provincial Assembly seats from Kasur.

After victory, the President of the Stability Pakistan Party, Aleem Khan, has retained the seat of NA-117, while he has left the seat of PP-149.

Hamza Shehbaz has decided to take oath as MNA from NA-118 while leaving the seat of PP-147.

Maryam Nawaz, who was successfully elected as Punjab Chief Minister from PP-159, has vacated the seat of NA-119.

PML-N Sardar Ghulam Abbas has become MNA from NA-53 while he was elected from PP-22 leaving the seat vacant.

PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal was elected from National Assembly Constituency 76 and PP 54 but he did not take oath from the Punjab Assembly seat and thus left the PP 54 seat.

PML-N leader Rana Tanveer also decided to take oath on the National Assembly seat from Sheikhupura. He has also left the provincial assembly seat.

PML-N leader Owais Khan Laghari from Dera Ghazi Khan won the National Assembly and Provincial Assembly seats from NA-186. He also did not take the oath of Member of Punjab Assembly. Has decided to leave the seat of the provincial assembly.

Chairman People’s Party Bilawal Bhutto participated in the election from three National Assembly seats. He lost in Lahore’s NA 127, while he won two National Assembly seats from Sindh, one of which he vacated. People’s Party’s elected Member of National Assembly from Sindh, Dr. Ezra Plaju, has left one seat.

Chaudhry Salik Hussain of QLQ retained the seat of National Assembly from Gujarat and left the seat of Provincial Assembly.

PTI-backed independent Riyaz Fatiana also decided to take oath as a member of the National Assembly after being elected from NA-107, while vacating the provincial assembly seat.

PTI-backed independent candidate Ali Amin Gandapur has vacated the National Assembly seat from Dera Ismail Khan. On the provincial seat, he is a candidate for the Chief Ministership of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Akhtar Mengal of Balochistan National Party, who won two seats in National and Provincial Assembly, has also left the seat of Balochistan Assembly.

After the swearing in of the newly elected members of the National Assembly, the Election Commission will announce the schedule of by-elections for the vacant seats.

Candidates mobilized for vacant seats

PML-N leader Azam Nazir Tarar said that ‘Most candidates of PML-N have won more than one seat. Most of them are provincial, while Maryam Nawaz and Shehbaz Sharif have vacated one seat in the National Assembly.

Talking to the media, he said that the votes in our national and provincial assemblies have definitely decreased due to the vacant seats in the national assembly, but still there will be no obstruction in the formation of the government. Therefore, there will be a by-election on the vacant seats and we will bring forward our candidates.

PML-N leaders Khawaja Saad Rafique and Rana Sanaullah have been defeated in the National Assembly seats. Therefore, it is likely that the party will issue tickets to him to contest the elections on the vacant seats.

However, Ali Pervez Malik is also campaigning for the NA-119 seat vacated by Maryam Nawaz.

Malik Rashid Ahmed Khan wants to participate in the election on the NA-132 seat vacated by Shehbaz Sharif’s Kasur as he has already been elected from this seat.

Similarly, the candidates who want to participate in other seats are trying to get tickets from their respective parties to contest in these seats.