National News Desk
Islamabad: The Pakistan Election Commission (ECP) agreed on Thursday to hold immediately by-elections in eight electoral districts of national and provincial assemblies that had been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, Dawn said.
Earlier, the National Command and Operations Center (NCOC) had banned ECP from conducting by-elections until 31 January 2021.
The announcement will pave the way for the completion of the Electoral College in the coming Senate elections. The two electoral districts of the National Assembly (Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) and six provincial assemblies of Sindh had been delayed by the by-elections.
These include three provincial assemblies in Sindh and one in the other three provinces, plus one in the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa national assemblies.
The two National Assembly constituencies where by-elections are to be held are NA-75 Sialkot and NA-45 Kurram Agency. The provincial assembly seats awaiting by-polls are: PS-52 Umerkot, PS-88 Malir, and PS-43 Sanghar in Sindh, PP-51 Gujranwala in Punjab, PK-63 Nowshera in KP, and PB-20 Pishin in Balochistan, reported Dawn. The Commission asked the provinces to ensure strict observance of SOPs during the electoral process.