Around two million voters in district Faisalabad, which is about one third of the district’s electorate, will vote on November 23 to choose their new representatives for two National Assembly and three Punjab Assembly constituencies. These constituencies include NA-96 Faisalabad-II, and PP-98 Faisalabad-I, NA-104 Faisalabad-X, PP-115 Faisalabad-XVIII, and PP-116 Faisalabad-XIX.
What areas do these constituencies comprise?
The up-for-grab constituencies represent the areas of Faisalabad city, and tehsils of Jaranwala and Chak Jhumra. According to Draft List of Constituencies (Form-5) issued by the ECP in 2023, the cumulative population of these constituencies was slightly above three million, with 61 percent of them registered as voters.
NA-96 Faisalabad-II covers the Municipal Committee of Jaranwala and the most parts of Jaranwala tehsil including Jaranwala Saddar, Lundianwala, Buchiana, Chak Hamanand, and parts of the Awagat qanungo area. It had a population of nearly 9 lacs in 2023. PP-98 Faisalabad-I spans over Chak Jhumra tehsil and Gattwala area of Faisalabad Saddar tehsil. Its 2023 population was 4.4 lacs.
NA-104 Faisalabad-X, PP-115 Faisalabad-XVIII, and PP-116 Faisalabad-XIX include areas falling within the jurisdiction of the Faisalabad Metropolitan Corporation. NA-104 had a total population of 9.2 lacs, PP-115 almost four lacs, and PP-116 4.1 lacs.
Why are these elections taking place?
Convictions in cases related to the violent protests of May 9, 2023 following Imran Khan’s arrest affected Faisalabad district the most. These convictions led to the disqualification of five elected representatives including two MNAs and three MPAs. The district has a total of 10 MNAs and 21 MPAs. All of them were elected in General Election 2024 (GE-2024) as independents backed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and later jointed Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC). They included:
- Rai Haider Ali Khan, elected from NA-96 Faisalabad-II with 134,724 (48 percent) votes;
- Sahibzada Hamid Raza, elected from NA-104 Faisalabad-X with 132,655 (51 percent) votes;
- Junaid Afzal Sahi, elected from PP-98 Faisalabad-I with 73,565 (46 percent) votes;
- Shahid Javed, elected from PP-115 Faisalabad-XVIII with 53,271 (50 percent) votes; and
- Muhammad Ismael, elected from PP-116 Faisalabad-XIX with 67,046 (50 percent) votes
Check Here the Constituency-wise Assessment of GE-2024 Election Results
Who are contesting the by-election?
According to Final List of Contesting Candidates (Form-33), available on the ECP website, 43 candidates are contesting the by-elections across these five constituencies. They include 16 candidates in NA-96, 10 in PP-98, five each in NA-104 and PP-115, and seven in PP-116. PML-N has fielded a candidate in each constituency, while PTI-SIC has boycotted these elections.
In NA-96, PML-N has fielded Muhammad Bilal Badar, who is brother of the Minister of State for Interior, Talal Chaudhry. In GE-2024, PML-N candidate in the constituency was Nawab Sher, who had been a runner-up with 33 percent of the polled votes. The winner of GE 2018 from Jaranwala, Malik Nawab Sher Waseer, is also contesting from this constituency as an independent. He had won this constituency on PTI ticket securing 40 percent of the polled votes.
In NA-104, PML-N has nominated Daniyal Ahmed, who is contesting against three independent candidates. Daniyal previously contested GE-2024 and secured 92,610 votes, accounting for 37 percent of the total polled votes. He is the son of Raja Riaz the former Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly.
In PP-98, PML-N has nominated to Azad Ali Tabbasum, who is contesting against nine independent candidates. The party has not nominated any candidate for this constituency in GE-2024 in support of Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) candidate Muhammad Ajmal who had remained runner up to PTI-backed Junaid Afza Sahi with 47,834 (30 percent) votes. As many as three other independents in Form-33 had contested GE-2024 also. Among these, Faraz Anees of PPPP had received 5,566 votes, and independents Sher Afghan and Wasim Akram secured 1,256 and 1,617 votes, respectively
In PP-115, the ruling party’s candidate Muhammad Tahir Pervez is facing three independents and Awami Justice Party Pakistan (AJPP) candidate. Mr. Parvez had contested GE-2024 as well and remained runner-up to PTI-backed Shahid Javed with 39,375 (37 percent) of the polled votes.
In PP-116, PML-N has nominated Ahmed Shaharyar, the son-in-law of Senator Rana Sanaullah. He is contesting against five independents and Pakistan Nazriyati Party (PNP). In GE-2024, Ahmed Shaharyar was the runner-up with 52,517 (39 percent) votes.
What has changed since GE-2024?
Since the GE-2024, the cumulative number of voters on the electoral rolls of these five constituencies has risen from 1.81 million to 1.94 million, an increase of seven percent. Except for PP-116, the increase in voter numbers across the four constituencies has been consistent. NA-96 and PP-98 registered a four percent increase each, NA-104 registered five percent, and PP-115 registered six percent. PP-116 has seen a significant increase of 20 percent in its voter numbers.
A total of 891 polling stations will be set up across these constituencies, including 343 in NA-96, 171 in PP-98, 375 in NA-104, 159 in PP-115, and 190 in PP-116. Only PP-115 and PP-116 will have one and seven additional polling stations respectively compared to 2024. In the remaining three constituencies, the number of polling stations remains unchanged.
