Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah has said that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) will not contest by-elections on the 35 National Assembly (NA) seats that fell vacant when the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) de-notified Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers after Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf accepted their resignations.
Speaking on the Geo News programme “Capital Talk” with Hamid Mir, Sanaullah asked who would contest elections for a span of “only two or three months”.
He reiterated that the government will complete its constitutional term which will end by August 2023.
In reply to a question, Rana Sanaullah said that the Speaker took the decision as the PTI lawmakers did not appear before him in person despite being invited multiple times for verification of their resignations.
Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) President and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam–Fazl (JUI-F) Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has also said that the ruling alliance will not contest by-polls on the vacant seats.
On the contrary, PTI leaders have announced that their party chief Imran Khan will contest on 33 seats out of 35, leaving aside the two women’s reserved seats.
PTI Secretary General Asad Umar and Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhry announced the development.
Umar claimed that whether the ruling alliance participates or not, Khan will win all the seats.
