ISLAMABAD: Polling is currently taking place in the NA-171 Khanpur, Rahim Yar Khan constituency for the by-election, with a closely contested race expected between the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
This by-election follows the death of PTI member Mumtaz Mustafa Advocate. Voting began at 8:00 AM and will continue until 5:00 PM without interruption.
Although seven candidates are competing, the primary battle is between Makhdoom Tahir Rashiduddin from the PPP and Hasaan Mustafa Advocate from the PTI.
There are 526,973 eligible voters in the constituency, including 288,113 men and 238,860 women. The Election Commission has established 301 polling stations, with 88 set aside for men, 88 for women, and 125 for joint use, and a total of 901 polling booths.
To oversee the election, 301 presiding officers, 15 reserve presiding officers, 946 assistant presiding officers, 946 polling officers, and 301 deputy messengers have been deployed, led by Assistant Commissioner Rahim Yar Khan, Waqas Zafar, as the returning officer.
Security has been tightened, dividing the constituency into four sectors and 23 sub-sectors, with 2,700 police officers maintaining order. Sixty-two polling stations have been marked as sensitive, monitored by CCTV cameras and elite security forces, including the Elite Force and Quick Response Force (QRF).
A control room at the DPO office, manned by three senior police officers and 20 IT experts, is closely monitoring the situation.
In addition, Section 144 has been enforced from September 11th to 13th, banning the display and firing of weapons. Only law enforcement officials are permitted to carry licensed weapons during this period, as outlined in a Punjab Home Department notification.
