Stage set for high-stakes by-polls on Sunday

PTI chief in the run on seven NA seats

ISLAMABAD:

Almost five million people in eleven constituencies will cast their votes in high-stakes by-elections on Sunday, described by political pundit as “a referendum” on the popularity of former prime minister Imran Khan.

This is seen as a decisive moment in a polarised political environment of the country, with the outcome indicating support for the policies of a beleaguered government, or a continued stalemate.

The by-elections are the latest twist in political wrangling that began after Imran Khan’s April 10 ouster via a parliamentary no-confidence vote.

It comes as the nation grapples with the aftermath of devastating monsoon floods that affected more than 30 million people and left a third of the country under water.

Candidates can stand for multiple seats in elections. If they win more than one they choose which to keep, and a separate vote must later be held for those forfeited.

It is rare, however, for a candidate to stand for as many seats as the PTI chief is doing Sunday, and his disruptive move is clearly to gauge his popularity.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has completed its preparations for the by-polls in eight national and three provincial constituencies.

The National Assembly constituencies are NA-22 (Mardan-III); NA-24 (Charsadda-II); NA-31 (Peshawar-V); NA-108 (Faisalabad-VIII); NA-118 (Nankana Sahib-II); NA-237 (Malir-II); NA-239, (Korangi), Karachi-I; and NA 157 (Multan-IV).

The provincial constituencies are PP-139 (Sheikhupura-V); PP-209 (Khanewal VII); and PP-241 (Bahawalnagar-V).

There are 2.46 million male and 2.28 million female registered voters in these 11 constituencies.

There are 2,937 polling stations in these 11 constituencies — 806 for men, 713 for women and 1,416 are joint.

The total number of polling booths at the stations is 9,869, of which 5,294 are for men and 4,575 for women.

A total of 747 polling stations have been declared “highly-sensitive” and 694 “sensitive”.

Around 100 candidates are contesting in 11 by-election constituencies.

Police, Rangers and army personnel would be deployed for security.

The service of 8300 text messages for vote details and polling stations has been activated for the convenience of the people.

The public, political parties and other stakeholders can contact the ECP, the offices of the provincial election commissioners and the control rooms of the returning officers in case of complaints.

The votes of pregnant women, transgender people, persons with disabilities and the elderly would be cast on a priority basis.

According to the ECP spokesperson, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja would be personally monitoring the polling process.

The spokesperson quoted the CEC as saying that nobody would be allowed to violate the law.

Also read: ECP rejects interior ministry’s request to postpone by-polls

The CEC added that immediate action would be taken against those who riot and interfere in the polling process.

The spokesperson further said the CEC had sent communiques to the chief secretaries and police chiefs of Punjab, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh to ensure a peaceful atmosphere and foolproof security for the by-elections.

In view of the ongoing political polarisation and flood disasters in the country, the administration and security institutions need to be more alert to ensure transparent and impartial conduct of the elections.

A day earlier, the ECP had notified the deployment of armed forces for the security of the by-polls.

According to its notification, Rangers, Frontier Corps and Pakistan Army personnel will be deployed at polling stations from October 15 to 17.

The ECP also assigned magisterial powers to the concerned officers of the armed forces.

PTI chairman and deposed premier Imran Khan is contesting the by-elections in seven of the eight constituencies of the NA.

The commission on Saturday handed over election material to the relevant staff for the by-elections for three vacant NA seats in K-P.

The election material was handed over to the staff for NA-31 at Nishter Hall Peshawar and also dispatched to the district returning officers of Charsadda and Mardan.

K-P Provincial Election Commissioner Muhammad Farid Khattak visited the material distribution places and issued instructions to the district returning officers and returning officers to ensure fair and transparent elections.

He urged all the constituents, particularly women, to exercise their right to vote by visiting polling stations without any fear or threat to perform their national duty.

The provincial election commission has filed a complaint with the K-P chief secretary and IGP about the “indifferent attitude” of the Charsadda DPO in connection with the conduct of free and fair by-election in the district.

(With input from APP)