Everyone is focused on today's vital by-elections.

Tremendous Political Activity:

Today (Sunday), when dozens of candidates will compete for eight National Assembly seats in the by-elections for which voting has already ended, Pakistan will be awash in tremendous political activity.

Imran Khan, the former prime minister and head of the PTI, is running for seven of the eight seats up for grabs in the crucial by-election, which he calls "a referendum" on his support.

The by-elections are the most recent development in the political bickering that started when Khan was ousted from power on April 10 by a parliamentary no-confidence vote, making him the first prime minister to be thus ousted.

Elections allow candidates to run for numerous positions. If they receive more than one victory, they pick which to keep, and the others must be surrendered.

The by-elections take place as the country struggles to recover from devastating monsoon floods that displaced more than 30 million people and submerged a third of the country.

The administration sought to postpone the elections for at least the ensuing 90 days, claiming that security officers were preoccupied with flood relief efforts and that there had been reports of terrorist activity during the elections.

Election Commission of Pakistan:

But despite receiving two letters from the Ministry of Interior, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) rejected the recommendation to postpone the by-elections and ordered the appropriate authorities to increase security instead.

In response to the interior ministry's previous letter, the ECP stated that "security arrangements should be strengthened to conduct peaceful elections [...] arrangements should be put in place to ensure law and order."

 (PDM):

The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) was unable to campaign as effectively as PTI because Khan attended every by-election-related jalsa to rally his supporters while the federal government was preoccupied with dealing with the devastating floods.

Voting will be held in the following constituencies: NA-22 Mardan-III, NA-24 Charsadda-II, NA-31 Peshawar-V, NA-108 Faisalabad-VIII, NA-118 Nankana Sahib -II, NA-157 Multan-IV, NA-237 Malir-II, and NA-239 Korangi, Karachi-I.

Law and order concerns have caused the by-election for NA 45, a tribal region seat, to be postponed.

After NA Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf in July accepted the resignations of PTI MNAs — nine on general seats and two on reserved seats for women — the Lower House seats became vacant.

Three Punjab Assembly seats — PP-241 Bahawalnagar-V, PP-209 Khanewal-VII, and PP-139 Sheikhupura-V — would also come up for by-election.

ECP Completes The Arrangements:

All preparations for 11 constituencies—eight for the National Assembly and three for the Punjab Assembly—have been completed by the ECP.

Three provinces are holding by-elections: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will hold them for three National Parliament seats, while Sindh will hold them for two NA seats. Three seats in the National Assembly and three seats in the provincial assembly are empty in Punjab.

In all, 101 candidates—52 in Punjab, 33 in Sindh, and 16 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa—represent various political parties and independents.

Polling Places:

1,434 polling places have been set up in Punjab, 979 in KP, and 340 in Karachi.

Today, all polling stations received a fully secure delivery of the poll workers, polling supplies, ballots, and polling bags.

The delivery of the voting supplies is being watched by the concerned officers in Karachi, Lahore, KP, and Islamabad.

At the national and provincial levels, distinct special control rooms have been established to quickly address complaints about elections and obstacles to holding fair elections.

Chief Election Commissioner:

In the meantime, the (CEC) has sent a letter to the chief secretaries and inspector generals of the police of Punjab, KP, and Sindh requesting that full protection be provided for poll workers, candidates, and political parties.