ECP suspends Senate by-election on Murad Saeed’s vacant seat

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday suspended the Senate by-election on the seat vacated after the de-notification of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leader Murad Saeed, after a petition questioned the legality of the de-notification process.

A three-member bench of the commission heard the petition and issued notices to all relevant parties. During the proceedings, counsel for petitioner and MPA Jalal Khan told the commission that Saeed had been elected to the Senate but had not taken oath as a member.

The lawyer argued that this raised a legal question over the manner in which Saeed was later de-notified. "Since Saeed did not take the oath, questions arise over how he was de-notified as a member," he told the commission.

and maintained that a person becomes a member of the house only after taking the oath.

The petitioner’s counsel asked the ECP to defer the by-election and first remove what he described as ambiguity surrounding the matter. After hearing the arguments, the commission accepted the request and stayed the by-election that had been scheduled for April 23. The case was then adjourned until May 7.

Disqualification and vacancy

On March 26, the ECP disqualified Saeed from his Senate seat following his conviction in a May 9 case. According to the commission’s notification, the disqualification was based on a sentence handed down by an anti-terrorism court on March 7.

Saeed was among 47 proclaimed offenders who were sentenced to 10 years in prison in the May 9 General Headquarters attack case by an anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi.

In a notification dated March 25, the ECP referred to the court’s March 7 order and stated: "Murad Saeed, notified as returned candidate on a general seat of Senate from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province [..] has become disqualified under Article 63(1)(h) of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan and is hereby de-notified. Resultantly, his seat has become vacant.

The seat in question is a general Senate seat from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Saeed had been elected senator in July 2025.

With the by-election now put on hold, the matter will next be taken up by the ECP on May 7, when proceedings in the petition are set to resume.