By-elections are underway across the country on Sunday, with polling continuing from 8am to 5pm in six National Assembly and seven Punjab Assembly constituencies under strict security arrangements.

The Election Commission has delivered polling materials to stations, while more than 20,000 police personnel have been deployed to maintain order. Most of the seats fell vacant following the disqualification of various lawmakers, and voters are set to decide their replacements today.

In the National Assembly, the key contest is in NA-18 Haripur, where the seat vacated after Omar Ayub’s disqualification has brought his wife Shehrnaz Omar Ayub, into the race against PML-N’s Babar Nawaz.

In NA-143 Sahiwal, PML-N’s Chaudhry Tufail is facing independent candidate Zarrar Akbar, while in NA-185 Dera Ghazi Khan, PPP’s Dost Muhammad Khosa is up against PML-N’s Mahmood Qadir Leghari. This seat was vacated after PTI’s Zartaj Gul was disqualified.

A close fight is also reported in NA-96 Jaranwala between PML-N’s Bilal Badr and independent candidate Nawab Sher, after the disqualification of Rai Haider Ali Khan.

In NA-104 Faisalabad, PML-N’s Raja Daniyal Riaz is contesting independent candidate Rana Adnan. The seat was vacated after the disqualification of SIC’s Hamid Raza.

Meanwhile, NA-66 Wazirabad has already been decided, with PML-N’s Bilal Farooq Tarar elected unopposed.

Polling is also underway on seven Punjab Assembly seats. In PP-98 Chakk Jhumra, PML-N’s Azad Ali Tabassum is up against independent Ajmal Cheema.

In PP-115 Faisalabad, PML-N’s Mian Tahir Jamil faces independent Asghar Malik, while in PP-116 Faisalabad, PML-N’s Rana Shehryar is contesting independent Asghar Ali Qaiser.

In PP-73 Sargodha, PML-N’s Sultan Ranjha and independent Mehr Mohsin Raza are competing for the seat vacated after Anser Iqbal Haral’s disqualification.

A tight three-way contest is expected in PP-87 Mianwali among PML-N’s Ali Haider Noor Khan, independent Nawabzada Ayaz Niazi and JUI’s Khalid Masood. The seat was vacated following the disqualification of opposition leader Malik Ahmad Bhachar.

In PP-203 Sahiwal, PML-N’s Chaudhry Hanif and Sardar Falak Sher Dogar are locked in a one-on-one contest, while PP-269 Muzaffargarh has the largest field with 17 candidates, including PPP’s Mian Almdar Qureshi.