The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has announced that a by-election for the vacant Senate general seat from Punjab will be held on May 29, 2025. This seat became vacant following the death of Senator Professor Sajid Mir on May 3, as reported by the Associated Press of Pakistan.
According to a notification issued by the provincial election commissioner, nomination papers can be submitted on May 14 and 15. The list of nominated candidates will be published on May 16, with scrutiny of the papers set for May 17. Appeals against acceptance or rejection of nominations must be filed by May 20 and will be adjudicated by May 22.
A revised list of candidates will be released on May 23, and the deadline to withdraw candidature is May 24. Voting will take place at the Punjab Assembly chambers from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM on May 29.
Nomination papers can be collected from the Punjab ECP office at 10-Court Street, Lahore, during office hours.
The seat was previously held by Prof. Sajid Mir, a respected religious and political leader who served as the head of Jamiat Ahle Hadith Pakistan and hailed from Sialkot. He passed away at the age of 86 due to a heart attack. Mir had been elected to the Senate five times on a PML-N ticket, with his most recent term beginning in 2021. He earlier served from 2009 to 2015.
In related developments, Syed Waqar Mehdi of the PPP won the recent by-election for a Senate seat from Sindh on May 6, held in Karachi. He secured 111 votes, defeating MQM-P’s Nighat Mirza, who received 36 votes, while two votes were rejected. The PTI boycotted the election and did not field a candidate.
The Sindh seat became vacant following the death of PPP Senator Taj Haider on April 8. Haider had been elected to the Senate in March 2021 for a six-year term.
