ISLAMABAD - 
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has issued the official schedule for August 22 by-elections on the 42 general seats comprising of 26 provincial assemblies and 16 National Assembly seats, with a slight amendment in the unofficial by-poll schedule issued last week.The commission has also respectively appointed district and sessions judges, additional district and sessions judges and senior civil administration officials as district returning officers, returning officers and assistant returning officers for supervising the by-polls. As many as 27 of those seats where by-elections would be held were vacated by the lawmakers winning additional (more than one) seats while 11 seats had fallen vacant due to the deaths of the elected representatives concerned. The by-elections on the remaining four seats would be held in the wake of disqualification of the respective candidates on two general seats and nullification of the poll results on as many seats.Last Saturday, the ECP had issued the by-elections schedule for 41 general seats comprising of 25 provincial assemblies seats and 16 NA seats. The only amendment in the final schedule is the inclusion of Sindh Assembly’s constituency PS-103 Karachi-XV that fell vacant due to the killing of Sajid Qureshi, Member Provincial Assembly from Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM). Of the 42 general seats, the by-elections would be held on the 15 Punjab Assembly, four each (Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assemblies) and three Balochistan Assembly seats.According to further details, the 27 seats vacated by the legislators winning more than one seat in the light of Article 223 comprise of 15 provincial assemblies and 12 NA seats. Their details are: National Assembly:  NA-1 Peshawar-I, NA-5 Nowshera-I, NA-13 Swabi-II, NA-25 Dera Ismail Khan-cum-Tank, NA-27 Lakki Marwat, NA-48 Islamabad-I, NA-68 Sargodha-V, NA-71 Mianwali-I, NA-129 Lahore-XII, NA-177 Muzaffargarh-II, NA-235 Sanghar-II and NA-262 Killa Abdullah.Provincial assemblies seats are: (12 Punjab Assembly seats): PP-6 Rawalpindi-IV, PP-118 Mandibahauddin-III, PP-123 Sialkot-III, PP-142 Lahore-VI, PP-150 Lahore-XIV, PP-161 Lahore-XXV, PP-193 Okara-IX, PP-210 Lodhran-IV, PP-247 Rajanpur-I, PP-289 Rahim Yar Khan-V, PP-292 Rahim Yar Khan-VIII and PP-243 Dera Ghazi Khan-IV. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly (two seats): PK-23 Mardan-I and PK-70 Bannu-I and Balochistan Assembly (one seat): PB-44 Lasbela-I.The 11 general seats falling vacant due to the deaths of candidates comprise of nine provincial assemblies seats and two NA seats. The NA seats are:  NA-83 Faisalabad-IX and NA-254 Karachi-XVI. The provincial assemblies seats are: Punjab and Sindh Assemblies (three seats each) PP-51 Faisalabad-I, PP-217 Khanewal-VI, PP-254 Muzaffargarh-IV, PS-64 Mirpurkhas-I, PS-95 Karachi-VII and PS-103 Karachi-XV. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly (two seats):  PK-42 Hangu-I and PK-27 Mardan-V and Balochistan Assembly’s one seat: PB-32 Jhal Magsi. The two general seats felling vacant due to the disqualification of respective candidates are: NA-237 Thatta-I and PB-29 Nasirabad-II. The remaining as many seats becoming vacant due to the declaration of polls results null and void are: NA-103 Hafizabad-II and PS-12 Shikarpur-II.According to the by-elections schedule, public notices are to be issued on 01-07-2013, dates for filing of nomination papers: 03-07-2013 to 09-07-2013, dates for scrutiny of nomination papers: 11-07-2013 to 17-07-2013, last date for filing of appeals against decisions of the returning officers regarding the nomination papers: 22-07-2013, last date for deciding appeals by the tribunals: 29-07-2013, last date for withdrawal of candidatures: 30-07-2013, publication of revised list of candidates: 31-07-2013 and polling on  22-08-2013.The by-polls are being held in the light of Article 223 and 224 (4) of the Constitution of Pakistan. Article 223 states, “Bar against double membership (1) No person shall, at the same time, be a member of - (a) both houses; or (b) a house and a provincial assembly; or (c) the assemblies of two or more provinces; or (d) a house or a provincial assembly in respect of more than one seat-”Article 224 (4) states, “When, except by dissolution of the National Assembly or a provincial assembly, a seat in any such assembly has become vacant not later than one hundred and twenty days before the term of that assembly is due to expire, an election to fill the seat shall be held within sixty days from the occurrence of the vacancy.”   Meanwhile, the ECP has ‘requested’ the political parties to remove the flags, banners and hoardings that were installed during the general elections within 15 days, “failing which the removal charges on that account will be recovered from them.”The commission also ‘requested’ the provincial chief secretaries “to ensure compliance of the above-said directions of the ECP in letter and spirit.”