• Case re-listed for hearing on May 7
• Decision follows petition filed by PML-N MPA
• Counsel argues no lawful vacancy exists in first place
• Insists Murad never became senator without oath
• Three-member bench says legal question needs detailed review

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday suspended the by-election on a Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Senate seat, originally scheduled for April 23, following a petition filed by a PML-N lawmaker.

In an order issued by a three-member bench headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sikander Sultan Raja, the commission said the matter required detailed consideration and assistance on a legal question. The case has been re-listed for hearing on May 7.

“The matter requires detailed discussion and assistance; therefore, the office is directed to issue notices to all the contesting candidates and necessary parties for appearance and assistance on the question of law raised by the applicant,” the ECP order said. “In the meantime, the election programme for Senate elections in KP is suspended in the interest of justice till further orders.”

The petition was filed by KP Assembly member Jalal Khan, represented by Barrister Muhammad Yaseen Raza Khan, who argued that no lawful vacancy existed to justify the by-election.

The seat in question was won by PTI’s Murad Saeed in the Senate elections held on July 21, 2025. However, he was later convicted by an anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi on March 7 and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Following his conviction, an application for his disqualification under Article 63(1h) of the Constitution was filed. The ECP subsequently de-notified him on March 25, noting that although he had been declared a returned candidate, he had not taken the oath.

Later, under Article 224(5) of the Constitution and Section 127 of the Elections Act, 2017, the ECP issued the by-election schedule on April 2 to fill the seat, fixing April 23 as the polling date.

During the hearing, the petitioner’s counsel contended that since Mr Saeed had not taken the oath or assumed office, he never became a member of the Senate in the constitutional sense, and therefore no vacancy had arisen.

He argued that under the Elections Act, 2017, a by-election can only be held to fill a “casual vacancy”, which presupposes the existence of a valid seat.

“However, vacancy is a jurisdictional fact on which the commission has to decide,” he said, adding that if there is no vacancy in law, there can be no by-election.

Referring to Articles 65 and 255(3) of the Constitution, the counsel stated that an elected person to a House shall not sit nor vote until he has made oath before the House.

He argued that under Article 255(3), an oath is not a protocol but a constitutional and legal requirement to assume office. “If there is no oath, there is no membership,” he added.

He further argued that Articles 63 and 64 of the Constitution deal with termination of membership, not its creation.

He emphasised that the question arises as to whether the Constitution permits the ECP to treat the seat as vacant when the constitutional preconditions for vacancy were never met.

He requested that the election programme for the by-poll on the KP Senate general seat scheduled for April 23, as well as the March 23 notification de-notifying Murad Saeed, be suspended, and that the constitutional question be decided at the outset.

The ECP’s Additional Director General (Law) requested time to assist the commission and suggested that notices be issued to all contesting candidates before further proceedings.

Published in Dawn, April 22nd, 2026