Over 750,000 registered voters of NA-18 Haripur will elect their new representative for the National Assembly on November 23, 2025.
The constituency covers the entire Haripur district, which includes the tehsils of Haripur, Ghazi, and Khanpur. In terms of registered voters, it is the largest National Assembly constituency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the third largest in Pakistan after NA-67 Hafizabad and NA-118 Lahore-II. According to the List of Polling Stations issued for the by-election, NA-18 has 753,944 registered voters.
Why is the by-election taking place?
The seat was vacated due to the disqualification of MNA Omar Ayub Khan, who was also the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly. He won GE-2024 with 194,429 votes, which constituted 54 percent of the polled votes. In August, the Anti-Terrorism Court in Faisalabad sentenced him in a case related to the violent protests of May 9, 2023, leading to his disqualification as MNA under Article 63(1)(h) of the Constitution.
Who is contesting the by-election?
According to the Final List of Contesting Candidates (Form-33), nine candidates are contesting the by-election. Four political parties have fielded their candidates. These include Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPPP), Hazara Qaumi Mahaz Pakistan (HQMP), and Pakistan Nazriyati Party (PNP). The remaining five candidates are contesting as independents.
The main contest is said to be between Shehrnaz Omar Ayub, the wife of the disqualified Omar Ayub, and PML-N candidate Babar Nawaz. This is Shehrnaz’s first election, and she is contesting the by-election as an independent candidate, while Babar Nawaz has been contesting this seat since 2015 as a PML-N candidate. He won the 2015 by-election, and remained runner-up in GE-2018 with 39 percent of the polled votes, and in GE-2024 with 31 percent. Unlike Punjab constituencies, where PTI has announced a boycott of the by-elections, the party is actively supporting Shehrnaz in KP’s NA-18 Haripur.
Other candidates include Irum Fatima of PPPP, Rustam Khan of HQMP, Abdul Shakoor of PNP, and independents Asad Usman, Khurshid Anwar, Syed Ali Zawar Naqvi, and Muhammad Sarwar.
Check Here the Constituency-wise Assessment of GE-2024 Election Results
Who are the traditional heavyweights in the constituency?
The Tareen family, descendants of former President General Ayub Khan, are among the most influential in the constituency. They joined PTI in 2018 after long associations with PML-N and PML-Q. Ayub’s son, Gohar Ayub Khan, served in the National Assembly six times between 1965 and 1997. Since then, his son Omar Ayub Khan has contested from this constituency and was elected thrice. The family has lost the constituency only twice since 1977, in 2008 and 2013. Haripur tehsil remains their main stronghold, and Omar’s wife is now contesting this by-election.
Dr. Raja Amer Zaman is another prominent figure in Haripur politics. He is the son of former Chief Minister of the erstwhile NWFP Raja Sikandar Zaman. His family’s influence is strongest in Khanpur tehsil. He served as Nazim in 2005 and has contested multiple National Assembly elections since 2008. He was runner-up in 2008 with 31 percent of the polled votes as an independent candidate. In 2013, he won the National Assembly seat as a PTI candidate with 40 percent of the polled votes. After Omar Ayub joined PTI, Raja Amer Zaman did not receive the party ticket and has reportedly been supporting PML-N candidate Babar Nawaz Khan for the National Assembly elections. His family members have also been successful in provincial and local government elections.
Former Chief Minister Pir Sabir Shah belongs to the influential Mashwani Syed family and holds considerable clout in Ghazi tehsil. He has served as the provincial president of PML-N. The family of former MNA Sardar Mushtaq is also politically important in the district. They previously contested from PPPP but are now reportedly aligned with PML-N.
What has changed since GE-2024?
Since GE-2024, the number of registered voters in the constituency has increased from 724,915 to 753,944, reflecting an addition of 29,029 voters or nearly four percent. A total of 602 polling stations will be set up for the by-election, including 144 for men, 143 for women, and 315 combined polling stations. Despite the increase in registered voters, this time there are two polling stations fewer than the number of polling stations in GE-2024.
