In six days, registered voters in 13 constituencies of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will return to the polls to elect new representatives to the National Assembly and the Punjab Assembly. These seats became vacant after MNAs and MPAs elected in General Election 2024 were denotified following convictions, resignation, or death.

Except for one case of resignation, all vacancies occurred between July and August 2025. Section 102 of the Elections Act, 2017 requires that a by-election be held within 60 days of a seat falling vacant. Each of these constituencies has now remained without representation for more than 60 days.

Polling did not take place earlier for two reasons. In eight constituencies, an election schedule issued for a September 18, 2025 polling day was postponed due to recent floods in Punjab. In the remaining constituencies, the election schedule was either not issued or was suspended because of pending court proceedings.

Where are these constituencies located?

Among the 13 constituencies, six represent the National Assembly, and seven the Punjab Assembly. Following are the details of these constituencies:

  • Two constituencies of the National Assembly and three of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab are in Faisalabad. These are NA-96 Faisalabad-II, NA-104 Faisalabad-X, PP-98 Faisalabad-I, PP-115 Faisalabad-XVIII, PP-116 Faisalabad-XIX.
  • One constituency each of the National Assembly and the Provincial Assembly are in Sahiwal. These are NA-143 Sahiwal-III and PP-203 Sahiwal-VI.
  • While, one constituency each is in Haripur, Lahore, Dera Ghazi Khan, Mianwali, Sargodha, and Muzaffargarh. These include NA-18 Haripur, NA-129 Lahore-XIII, NA-185 D.G.Khan-II, PP-73 Sargodha-III, PP-87 Mianwali-III, and PP-269 Muzaffargarh-II.

Why is a by-election happening there?

Except for the Lahore and Muzaffargarh seats, all other constituencies became vacant due to the disqualification of members following their conviction by Anti-Terrorism Courts in cases related to the May 9 incidents. These constituencies were represented by PTI-supported independent or Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) legislators, including the former Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, Omar Ayub, Sunni Ittehad Council Parliamentary Leader, Zartaj Gul, Sahibzada Hamid Raza, Rai Haider Ali Khan, Rai Hassan Nawaz Khan, Ahmed Khan, Rai Muhammad Murtaza Iqbal, Junaid Afzal Sahi, Muhammad Ansar Iqbal, Shahid Javed, and Muhammad Ismail.

The Lahore seat became vacant due to the death of PTI-supported MNA Mian Muhammad Azhar. The Muzaffargarh by-election was prompted by the resignation of MPA Alamdar Abbas who was a PPPP legislator from PP-269 Muzaffargarh-II.

What to look for?

FAFEN will observe these elections through a trained cohort of 150 citizen observers who will visit up to 600 polling stations across 13 constituencies. Over this week, we will publish detailed constituency profiles exploring past voting patterns, key candidates, and local political dynamics.

If you are a voter in these constituencies, stay tuned for updates on what to expect on polling day, the roles and responsibilities of polling officials, and the official result forms of these elections.