The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has released the schedule for by-elections in three constituencies — NA-143 Sahiwal, NA-185 Dera Ghazi Khan, and PP-203 Punjab Assembly. Polling for all seats will be held on October 5, 2025. According to the official schedule, the returning officers will issue public notices on August 26. Candidates may submit their nomination papers from August 28 to 30, with the initial list of candidates being published on August 30. The scrutiny of nomination papers will be completed by September 3. Any appeals regarding the acceptance or rejection of papers can be filed until September 8, with final decisions to be announced by September 12.
Candidates will then be allowed to withdraw their nomination papers on September 15, while the final list of contesting candidates will be released on September 16. The by-elections were announced after the seats fell vacant due to the disqualification of MNAs Rai Hassan Nawaz and Zartaj Gul and MPA Rai Muhammad Murtaza Iqbal by the Anti-Terrorism Court of Faisalabad.
Earlier this month, the ECP disqualified Senate Opposition Leader Shibli Faraz and National Assembly Opposition Leader Omar Ayub, along with seven other PTI lawmakers. According to an official ECP notification issued on August 5, the disqualifications follow orders from the ATC Faisalabad, which handed down convictions in three separate cases.