ISLAMABAD: By-polling in 41 national and provincial assembly constituencies concluded as per schedule on Thursday, DawnNews reported.
The polling began at 8 pm and concluded on 5 pm as per schedule.
According to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), 519 candidates are contesting for 41 seats — 15 of National Assembly and 26 of provincial assemblies.
16:15— None of the 456 registered women voters casted their ballots during the by-polls held in polling station No 95 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Swabi area.
16:00— Women were reportedly stopped from ballotting their votes during by-polls in Mandi Bahauddin's PP-188 constituency in Punjab.
14:30— Polling was suspended in Shikarpur's PS-12 constituency after the recovery of a bag full of votes. One suspect was also taken into custody with this regards.
14:15— Acting chief election commissioner Justice Tassaduq Jilani visited various polling stations in Karachi during which he said that action would be taken if any information regarding rigging was received. He added that the use of mobile phones was banned to ensure transparency of polls and that it was difficult to pre-maturely comment on the turnout.
13:45— A clash between two rival groups in Sangarh's NA-235 claimed the life of at least one person and injured five others.
12:40— A clash took place between two political parties in Punjab Assembly's PP-193 (Okara) constituency, following which one person was arrested. Panic spread amongst people after the clash due to which polling has been temporarily suspended in the area.
**12:35 **— Women were prevented from casting their votes in several polling stations on Mianwali's NA-71 constituency in Punjab.
12:24— Women have been 'barred' from voting in several polling stations of Lakki Marwat's NA-27 constituency.
**12:06 **— The ECP has decided to monitor vote-casting by women. It has moreover directed presiding officers to separate female voter results from their male counterparts.
11:40— Women have been barred from voting in Nowshera's NA-5 constituency.
11:28— A low voter turnout was reported from most parts of the country. According to media reports, few people turned up for voting due to a general lack of interest in the by-election.
11:12— A clash took place between supporters of Malik Noor Rabbani and Jamshed Dasti in Muzaffargarh's NA-177 constituency. Later, army personnel intervened to resolve the matter.
10:55— During by-polling in Karachi's NA-254 constituency, Pakistani army personnel prevented duplicate identity card holders from voting. The army personnel said that as per the orders of the ECP, only those with a real identity card could cast their vote. However, individuals with duplicate identity cards demanded that they should be allowed to vote.
10:32— Acting CEC Justice Tassaduq Jilani visited various polling stations in Lahore and expressed satisfaction on the way polling was being conducted. He said out of the 41 polling stations, not even one had complained of poll rigging.
NA SEATS: The National Assembly constituencies where by-elections are being held include NA-1 (Peshawar), NA-5 (Nowshera), NA-13 (Swabi), NA-25 (D.I. Khan-cum-Tank), NA-27 (Lakki Marwat), NA-48 (Islamabad), NA-68 (Sargodha), NA-71 (Mianwali), NA-83 (Faisalabad), NA-129 (Lahore), NA-177 (Muzaffargarh), NA-235 (Sanghar), NA-254 (Karachi) and NA-262 (Killa Abdullah).
Earlier, NA-1 and NA-71 seats had been vacated by PTI chief Imran Khan who chose to retain NA-56 (Rawalpindi). Mr Khan had contested for four NA seats and lost only one in Lahore to incumbent National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq.
The NA-68 seat had been vacated by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif who retained his home constituency (NA-120 Lahore).
NA-129 had been left by Shahbaz Sharif who retained his Punjab Assembly seat to become chief minister.
NA-5 and NA-13 seats had been vacated by Pervez Khatak and Asad Qaisar of the PTI who retained their provincial assembly seats and were made chief minister and speaker of the KP Assembly, respectively.
JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman had decided to quit NA-27 and retain NA-24. The Maulana had also won the NA-25 (D.I. Khan) seat where by-election has been postponed for a few weeks because of threat of terrorist attacks.
NA-177 had been vacated by Jamshed Ahmad Dasti, NA-235 by Pir Sadruddin Shah Rashdi of the PML-F and NA-216 by Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai. They had won more than one seat.
NA-83 and NA-254 seats fell vacant after the death of contesting candidates.
By-elections will also be held for 15 seats of the Punjab Assembly, four of the Sindh Assembly, three of the Balochistan Assembly and four of the KP Assembly.
PUNJAB ASSEMBLY: Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan had vacated his provincial assembly seat (PP-6) and chose to retain his National Assembly seat.
The election in PP-51 could not be held due to death of Mohammad Amjad Rafique. Monis Elahi of the PML-Q gave up his PP-118 seat.
Khawaja Mohammad Asif of the PML-N had decided to quit PP-123 and retain NA seat to become Minister for Water and Power.
PP-161 and PP-247 had been vacated by Shahbaz Sharif and PP-243 by Zulfiqar Ali Khosa.
BALOCHISTAN ASSEMBLY: By-elections will be held in three constituencies — PB-29, PB-32 and PB-44.
KP ASSEMBLY: By-elections will be held in four constituencies -— KP-23 vacated by former chief minister Amir Haider Khan Hoti, KP-27 by PTI chief Imran Khan, KP-42 by Fareed Khan and KP-70 by another former chief minister Akram Khan Durrani.
SINDH ASSEMBLY: By-elections will be held in PS-12, PS-95, PS-103 and PS-64.