The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has released the schedule for by-elections in three constituencies of Faisalabad — NA-96, NA-104, and PP-98.

Polling will take place on October 5, following the seats being declared vacant after a verdict by the Faisalabad Anti-Terrorism Court.

Key dates for Faisalabad by-elections

According to the schedule issued by the ECP:

August 26: Public notice by returning officers.
August 28–30: Filing of nomination papers.
August 30: Provisional list of candidates.
September 3: Scrutiny of nomination papers completed.
September 8: Last date to file appeals against acceptance or rejection of papers.
September 12: Decisions on appeals.
September 13: Updated provisional list of candidates released.
September 15: Withdrawal of nomination papers.
September 16: Final list of candidates announced.

Also Read: PTI to contest by-elections, postpones final call on opp leaders

Appointments of DROs, ROs, AROs

The ECP has also issued a notification confirming the appointment of election officers for smooth conduct of the polls:

District Returning Officer (DRO): Faisalabad DC Capt (retd) Nadeem Nasir.
NA-96 Returning Officer: FWMC CEO Rauf Ahmed.
NA-104 Returning Officer: PHA DG Dilawar Khan.
PP-98 Returning Officer: Muhammad Sarwar.
Various assistant commissioners (ACs) and district education officers have been appointed as assistant returning officers (AROs).

Also Read: ECP announces by-election schedule for NA-143, NA-185, PP-203

A day ago, the ECP released the schedule for by-elections in three constituencies — NA-143 Sahiwal, NA-185 Dera Ghazi Khan, and PP-203 Punjab Assembly. Polling for all seats will be held on October 5, while the timetable will remain the same as above.

The by-elections were announced after the seats fell vacant due to the disqualification of several PTI MNAs and MPAs by the Anti-Terrorism Court of Faisalabad.

According to an official ECP notification issued on August 5, the disqualifications follow orders from the ATC Faisalabad, which handed down convictions in three separate cases.

Also Read: ECP disqualifies 9 PTI lawmakers, including Senate, NA opposition leaders

The lawmakers were disqualified under Article 63(1)(h) of the Constitution, which bars individuals convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude from remaining members of parliament. The following parliamentarians were disqualified and de-notified:

Senator Syed Shibli Faraz (Opposition Leader, Senate)
Omar Ayub Khan, MNA, NA-18 Haripur (Opposition Leader, National Assembly)
Rai Haider Ali Khan, MNA, NA-96 Faisalabad-II
Sahibzada Muhammad Hamid Raza, MNA, NA-104 Faisalabad-X
Rai Hassan Nawaz Khan, MNA, NA-143 Sahiwal-II
Zartaj Gul, MNA, NA-185 D.G Khan-II
Muhammad Ansar Iqbal, MPA, PP-73 Sargodha-II
Junaid Afzal Sahi, MPA, PP-98 Faisalabad-I
Rai Muhammad Murtaza Iqbal, MPA, PP-203 Sahiwal-VI

As a result, all nine lost their seats in the National Assembly, Senate, and provincial assemblies.