PESHAWAR: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has announced that a by-election will be held to fill the vacant Senate seat from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which became vacant after the disqualification of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader Syed Shibli Faraz.
According to an ECP notification, polling for the seat will take place on October 30 at the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly building.
Syed Shibli Faraz, who had served as the former leader of the opposition in the Senate, was disqualified and de-notified by the ECP on August 5 after being convicted by an anti-terrorism court in Faisalabad on July 31.
Following his disqualification, Faraz challenged the decision in the Peshawar High Court, which initially granted him interim relief and stopped the ECP from taking further action.
However, the court recalled the stay order on October 1, allowing the ECP to proceed with filling the vacant seat.
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The ECP has appointed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provincial Election Commissioner Saeed Gul as the returning officer for the by-election.
As per the schedule, the public notice inviting nomination papers will be issued on October 7, while candidates can file their papers on October 8 and 9. The scrutiny of nomination papers will continue until October 13.
Appeals against the acceptance or rejection of nomination papers can be filed up to October 15, and the appellate tribunal will decide these appeals on October 17. The final list of candidates will be published on October 18, and candidates may withdraw their nomination papers until October 20.
