ISLAMABAD: More than four months after the expiry of the constitutional deadline for holding a by-election, the Election Commission of Pakistan has stopped the electoral process for a Senate by-election from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, ruling that no “lawful vacancy” has occurred on the seat won by PTI leader Murad Saeed.
The verdict by a three-member ECP bench headed by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja came on an application filed by PML-N MPA Jalal Khan seeking suspension of the by-poll that had been scheduled for April 23, 2026. The Commission held that since Mr Saeed had not taken oath as a senator, his disqualification following a 10-year conviction did not create a vacancy that warranted a by-election.
“Under Article 219(b) and Article 224(5) of the Constitution, read with Section 127 of the Elections Act 2017, a by-election can only be conducted when a seat of a member of parliament becomes vacant due to death, resignation, or disqualification of an existing member,” the order stated. “Since no lawful vacancy has occurred, the question of holding a by-election does not arise,” it added.
Accordingly, the ECP accepted the application and withdrew the election programme issued vide Notification No. F.9(1)/2026 dated Feb 24, 2026. Senate elections on 11 vacant seats from KP were held on July 21, 2025. Mr Saeed was declared a returned candidate on a general seat on July 24, 2025. On March 7, 2026, the Anti-Terrorism Court-I, Rawalpindi, convicted Mr Saeed and sentenced him to 10 years imprisonment in the State vs Asim Rehman case.
Says no ‘lawful vacancy’ on Murad Saeed’s seat
Subsequently, on March 25, 2026, the Commission determined that Mr Murad Saeed, who had been notified as a returned candidate on a general seat in the Senate from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on July 24, 2025, had become disqualified under Article 63(1)(h) of the Constitution. His seat was accordingly declared vacant.
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. However, two days before the poll, the notification of the election programme was suspended on a petition by the PML-N lawmaker.
The PTI had fielded Irfan Saleem for the April 23 by-election. Regarded as a loyalist of PTI founder and former prime minister Imran Khan, Saleem was expected to win the seat, given the party’s strength in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial legislature.
Critics believe that the ECP’s decision to stop the by-election was aimed at preventing Saleem from entering the Upper House of Parliament.
They argue that the Commission’s reliance on technicalities means KP will have reduced strength in the House of the Federation for years, at the cost of the constitutional scheme and spirit.
Article 224(5) of the Constitution reads: When a seat in the Senate has become vacant, an election to fill the seat shall be held within thirty days from the occurrence of the vacancy.
Published in Dawn, August 26th, 2026
