Overview
- The Election Commission postponed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Senate by-poll two days before the vote after it accepted a petition from PML-N lawmaker Jalal Khan.
- In a written order, the commission issued notices to all candidates and set May 7 for a detailed hearing on the legal issue.
- The petition argues there is no lawful vacancy because Murad Saeed never took the oath as senator and never entered office.
- PTI has nominated Irfan Saleem for the seat, and some critics allege the delay is meant to block his entry to the Senate.
- Saeed’s 10-year sentence from a Rawalpindi anti-terrorism court led the ECP to declare the seat vacant and set an April 23 vote, and the Senate chairman later declined to accept a resignation letter whose authenticity was uncertain.