HARIPUR: As many as 753,944 registered voters will use their right of franchise during the by-election in NA-18 constituency here on Sunday (today) amid tight security arrangements.

The single NA constituency in Haripur has 361,605 women voters and 392,339 men voters.

According to district election commissioner Zeshan Khan, there are a total of 602 polling stations – 143 for women, 144 for men and 315 combined. There are 1,906 polling booths, where 4,414 officials would perform the duties.

According to police, 40 polling stations have been declared as the most sensitive, 100 sensitive and 462 normal, where over 5,000 police personnel have been deployed to ensure smooth polling that would continue from 8am to 5pm.

DMO adjourns proceedings against CM over poll code violation

The voter turnout in this constituency during Feb 2024 general election was 49.88%.

Meanwhile, the district monitoring officer on Saturday adjourned the proceeding against Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and directed him to appear before him on Nov 28 in connection with the alleged violation of the code of conduct for the by-election in NA-18 constituency here.

The election monitoring body charged the CM with violating the para 10 and para 18 of the code of conduct issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan for by-election, by participating in the election meeting in Havelian on Nov 19, official sources told Dawn here on Saturday.

The para 10 stipulates that “incitement to violence or resort to violence during pre-poll campaign or during polling hours shall be strictly avoided by contesting candidates and their supporters.

While under para 18, the chief minister is bound not to participate in any election campaign.

The DMO served notice to the CM on Nov 20 and asked him to appear for hearing in person or through a lawyer at 11am on Nov 22 (Friday). However, according to an official handout, the CM failed to turn up and his lawyer Ali Bukhari and KP Advocate General Shah Faisal Uthmankhel appeared on his behalf and prayed for the case’s adjournment.

The DMO accepted the request and directed the lawyers to ensure the appearance of their client on Nov 28.

Meanwhile, the DMO also heard cases of PML-N candidate Babar Nawaz, Haripur tehsil chairman Samiullah Khan and former National Assembly deputy speaker Murtaza Javed Abbasi, and imposed fines on them under section 234 (3) of Election Act, 2017, for violating the code of conduct during an election meeting of Mr Nawaz, where they used some derogatory remarks and abusive language towards public servants.

The DMO Haripur also served notices to PTI MPA Akbar Ayub Khan, tehsil chairman Samiullah, project manager Tarbela Dam, district education officer (male) and a headmaster of a government school for boys for violation of code of conduct.

PTI-backed independent Shehrnaz Omar Ayub was served with four notices and PML-N’s Nawaz received three notices of violation of election code of conduct.

Published in Dawn, November 23rd, 2025