Floods: by-polls may be postponed

ISLAMABAD: The by-elections in nine constituencies of the National Assembly due this month might be postponed on account of countrywide floods and rains.

These nine constituencies are NA-22 Mardan, NA-24 Charsadda, NA-31 Peshawar, NA-45 Kurram, NA-108 Faisalabad, NA-118 Nankana Sahib, NA-237 Malir Karachi, NA-239 Korangi, Karachi and NA-246 South Karachi.

The by-election in these constituencies are scheduled for September 25, while the NA-157 Multan, PP-139 Sheikhupura and PP-241 Bahawalpur by-elections are slated for September 11.

Highly-placed sources told The News on Tuesday that the Election Commission (ECP) had sought a detailed report on the rains and flood situation in the respective areas to look into the possibility of holding the by-elections. The election campaign is not underway in any of the constituencies due to the weather complexities.

The candidates of the ruling PDM, independents and PTI are in the fray and none of them has approached the Election Commission so far for postponement of polls. However, initial reports received from the administrations of different constituencies suggest that the by-elections wouldn’t be possible as per schedule, as a vast area of the country is under water.

The sources said CEC Sikandar Sultan Raja will chair a meeting of the Election Commission on Wednesday (today) to discuss the ground situation. By-elections for NA Multan, PP Sheikhupura and Bahawalpur will come under discussion, while the by-elections in nine NA constituencies on September 25 will come up in the next week huddle.

The sources indicated that in case the polls were postponed, they wouldn’t be deferred for a long period. The commission has already deferred the local government polls in Sindh and Balochistan, which were scheduled to be held this month.

Interestingly, PTI’s three members of the National Assembly were elected in recent weeks but the party leadership did not allow them to take oath. These constituencies are not represented in the national legislature though the electorate had voted for their candidates.

PTI’s 123 members of the National Assembly are treated as absent, as their resignations were not accepted after rejection of Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri’s ruling/decision on accepting their resignations on April 9 after a vote of no-trust against the Imran government.