Islamabad: More than 9.23 million people are expected to cast their votes in by-elections in Pakistan on Sunday.

The bypolls will be held for 11 national and 24 provincial assembly seats, with among 370 candidates contesting these constituencies.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said it has roped in the armed forces to ensure security and smooth voting.

Of the vacant seats where elections will be held, 11 are in Punjab, nine in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and two each from Sindh and Balochistan.

The election for Karachi’s NA-247 seat is scheduled for Oct 31, after President Arif Alvi was elevated from that constituency.

Meanwhile, all the necessary measures have been taken for peaceful smooth by-elections and security of polling booths has been handed over the Pak force, said an official of the ECP while talking to Gulf News here Saturday.

ECP has dispatched more than 10 million ballot papers under the supervision of the Pak Army to all polling stations in the 35 constituencies.

According to ECP code of conduct election campaign came to a halt by midnight Friday and with a lull of one day election will be held on Sunday.

To a question, he said personnel of the armed forces would be stationed at 35 constituencies from October 12 (Friday) to October 15 (Monday).

Articles 220 and 245 of the Constitution of Pakistan empower the ECP to summon armed forces for safe, secure and peaceful elections in the country.

Most of the seats in the by-elections are those vacated by those elected on more than one seats in the July 25 polls.

Some of the bigwigs trying their luck in the by-elections are former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi (NA-124 in Lahore vacated by Hamza Shahbaz), former Railways Minister Khwaja Saad Rafique (NA-131 Lahore, vacated by Prime Minister Imran Khan), Naseem Ali Shah of the PTI and Zahid Akram Durrani of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) from NA-35 (Bannu), also vacated by PM Imran Khan.

On another seat, NA-243 (Karachi), vacated by Imran Khan again Alamgir Khan of PTI is contesting against Amir Waliud Din of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), Hakim Ali of the PPP and Sharafat Ali of the PML-N are also among 22 contestants in the constituency.

Moonis Elahi of the PML-Q is contesting from NA-69 (Gujrat) a seat vacated by his father Ch Pervaiz Elahi. The PML-N has fielded Imran Zafar in the constituency.

This is first time in the country’s history that overseas Pakistanis are also voting in by-elections. According to ECP, 7410 Overseas Pakistanis registered with the Commission as valid voters will be able participate in by-elections on Oct 14.

Meanwhile, a delegation of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) called on the Secretary Election Commission Babar Yaqoob and conveyed their party’s reservations about the by-elections. Later, talking to media, PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb said they had demanded of the ECP to ensure the counting is carried out in the presence of polling agents. “We have also inquired how they have improved the Result Transmission System (RTS) as they have claimed,” she said. We have requested the commission to make sure this time RTS doesn’t collapse.

Senator Chaudhry Tanveer drew the ECP attention to the fact that Railways Minister Sh Rashid Ahmed was campaigning for his nephew in NA-60 Rawalpindi which is clear violation of Election rules.