Polling has concluded in seven cities of Punjab and one city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for six National Assembly and seven Punjab Assembly constituencies. The Election Commission staff has begun counting the votes.
According to details, polling began at 8 a.m. in Lahore, Faisalabad, Sahiwal, Dera Ghazi Khan, Sargodha, Mianwali, Muzaffargarh, and Haripur, and continued without interruption until 5 p.m.
During this time, a disabled couple in NA-104 Faisalabad arrived at the polling station to cast their votes, while in Sargodha, a groom arrived with his wedding procession to exercise his right to vote.
During polling, an incident of disorder occurred at PP-269, Government Girls High School Karam Dad polling station, where supporters of the Pakistan Peoples Party and an independent candidate accused each other of rigging, temporarily halting the polling process.
According to the Punjab Election Commissioner, strict security arrangements were in place at all polling stations. Of the 2,792 polling stations across all constituencies, 408 were declared highly sensitive and 1,032 sensitive, while more than 20,000 personnel carried out security duties during the polling.
Earlier reports indicated that nine candidates were contesting the by-election in NA-18 Haripur, where a close contest was seen among PTI-backed independent candidate Shehrnaz, PML-N’s Babar Nawaz Khan, and PPP’s Iram Fatima. This seat became vacant after PTI’s Omar Ayub was disqualified following his conviction in the May 9 case.
Similarly, in Faisalabad’s NA-96, sixteen candidates were in the race, with PML-N’s Talal Badar Chaudhry facing competition from independent candidates. This seat fell vacant after the disqualification of PTI’s Rai Haider Ali Kharal.
In NA-185 Dera Ghazi Khan, eight candidates contested, with a tough competition between PML-N’s Mahmood Qadir Leghari and PPP’s Sardar Dost Muhammad Khosa. This seat was vacated after PTI’s Zartaj Gul Wazir was disqualified in the May 9 case.
Additionally, in Faisalabad’s NA-104, a contest took place between PML-N’s Raja Danial and four independent candidates. This seat was vacated after Sunni Ittehad Council Chairman Hamid Raza was disqualified following his conviction in the May 9 case.
