The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday issued the schedule for by-elections in three key constituencies — NA-129 Lahore, NA-66 Wazirabad, and PP-87 Mianwali — with polling set to take place on September 18.

According to the ECP notification, candidates interested in contesting the by-polls can submit their nomination papers by August 6, while the provisional list of candidates will be published on August 7. The allotment of election symbols is scheduled for August 26, after which official campaigning will begin.

The NA-129 seat in Lahore became vacant following the death of senior PTI politician Mian Azhar. The NA-66 Wazirabad and PP-87 Mianwali constituencies were declared vacant after the disqualification of Ahmed Khan Bhachar, the former leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly, and MNA Ahmed Chattha.

Also Read: PTI-backed MNA Chitrali disqualified; NA-1 seat vacant

Senate election on August 21

In addition to the National and provincial assembly by-polls, the ECP also announced the schedule for a vacant Senate seat, which became available following the disqualification of PTI's Senator Ejaz Chaudhry.

Nomination papers for the Senate seat will be received on August 1 and 2
Scrutiny of the nomination papers will take place on August 5
The last date to withdraw candidacy is August 13
Polling for the Senate seat is scheduled for August 21

Meanwhile, the ECP on Tuesday disqualified PTI's MNA Abdul Latif Chitrali under Article 63(1)(h) of the Constitution, declaring his seat, NA-1 Chitral, vacant.

The disqualification decision was made in light of an order dated July 29. Abdul Latif had been elected as an MNA from the NA-1 constituency in Chitral on the ticket of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC).