The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) issued on Friday (February 13, 2026) by-election schedule for the National Assembly constituency NA-256 Khuzdar. The seat had fallen vacant after the acceptance of the resignation of Sardar Akhtar Jan Mengal this week. He had won this seat during General Election 2024.

When will polling take place?

As per the notification issued on February 13, 2026, the polling will take place on April 5, 2026.  The electoral process will start with the public notice by the Returning Officers on February 18, 2026, inviting nominations. The nomination papers can be submitted between February 20 to 24, with the exception of February 22. The list of nominated candidates (Form-31) will be displayed on February 25 while the scrutiny of nomination papers will end on March 4. After decisions on the appeals against the RO’s scrutiny orders, if any, the revised list of the contesting candidates (Form-33) will be published on March 16. The contesting candidates may withdraw until 17 March, and election symbols will be allotted on March 18.

Will this be the first by-election of 2026?

The last two by-elections were decided uncontested. The polling for PP-289 Dera Ghazi Khan-IV was scheduled for January 25, 2026. However, Usama Abdul Karim of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was declared elected unopposed on January 09, 2026. Similarly, the polling for another Punjab Assembly seat, PP-167 Lahore-XXIII, was scheduled for February 04, 2026, but Malik Mehmood Shafi of PML-N was also declared elected unopposed.