The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has announced the election schedule for by-elections on National Assembly and provincial assembly seats across the country.

According to the announcement, by-elections on vacant seats of the National and provincial assemblies will be held across the country on April 21. These included six seats of the National Assembly, 12 seats of the Punjab Assembly, and two each of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan assemblies.

By-elections are also scheduled to be held on one seat of the Sindh Assembly on April 21.

As per the election schedule, candidates could file nomination papers with the respective returning officers from March 16 to 18, the names of candidates would be published on March 18. The last date for scrutiny of the candidatures would be March 21 and appeals could be filed against the decisions of returning officers to reject or accept the nominations by March 25.

The revised list of candidates would be published on March 28, while the last date for withdrawal of candidature and publication of revised list is March 29.

Election symbols would be allotted on March 30 with polling to be held on April 21.

On Tuesday, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) announced that it had started preparing for the upcoming by-elections scheduled to be held on multiple seats of the National and provincial assemblies.

Also Read: ECP starts preparing for by-elections on 24 seats

In anticipation of the electoral event, the ECP took several measures to ensure a smooth and transparent voting process.

One of the key preparations made by the election commission was the arrangement of a special paper for ballot papers. Sources in the ECP said that in the upcoming by-elections, ECP officers will serve as returning officers, overseeing the conduct of the electoral process and ensuring adherence to electoral laws and regulations.

The by-elections have been necessitated by the vacancies left by various political leaders. Significant among these vacancies is the NA-207 seat previously held by Asif Ali Zardari, who vacated the position upon assuming the presidency.

Similarly, Maryam Nawaz and Ali Amin Gandapur have also vacated their seats in the National Assembly after taking over the charges as chief ministers of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkha, while Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has left vacant one seat each in the National and Punjab Assemblies.