Postal Ballot Applications for NA-77 Gujranwala-I and PP-203 Sahiwal-VI Close on 23 October 2026
ECP fixed 23 October 2026 as the last date to apply for a postal ballot in the NA-77 Gujranwala-I and PP-203 Sahiwal-VI by-elections. See who qualifies and how.
Short answer: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has fixed 23 October 2026 as the last date to apply for a postal ballot in the by-elections for NA-77 Gujranwala-I and PP-203 Sahiwal-VI. The facility covers government servants, armed forces members and their families posted outside the constituency, voters with a NADRA disability card, and people in custody. The ECP announced the date in a press release dated 9 October 2026.
Most voters never think about postal ballots. For one group they decide whether a vote is cast at all. A clerk posted in another city, a soldier on duty far from home, a police officer on polling duty at a station that is not his own: none of them can walk into their own polling station on the day.
We read the ECP press release page and the press release itself on 12 October 2026. The notice is a scanned image, so we read it page by page. We did not find the polling date for either seat on an ECP page, so we mark it as reported below.
ECP fixes 23 October as the last date for postal ballot applications
The ECP press release of 9 October 2026 says applications for postal ballot papers for the by-election in NA-77 Gujranwala-I and PP-203 Sahiwal-VI must reach the Returning Officer by 23 October 2026. That is a Friday, eleven days after this article. After that date, no new application is accepted.
A by-election fills one vacant seat. NA-77 is a National Assembly seat in Gujranwala. PP-203 is a Punjab Assembly seat in Sahiwal. Only voters registered in those two constituencies vote in them. A postal ballot lets some of those voters mark their ballot paper away from the polling station and send it back.
| Item | What the ECP notice says |
|---|---|
| Seats | NA-77 Gujranwala-I and PP-203 Sahiwal-VI |
| Notice date | 9 October 2026 |
| Last date to apply | 23 October 2026 |
| Apply to | The Returning Officer of the constituency |
| Form | Prescribed form, from the Returning Officer or ecp.gov.pk |
| Endorsement | Forwarded by the voter's own office or department |
Four groups of voters can use a postal ballot
The notice names four groups. Government servants and armed forces members stationed outside their constituency, with their wives and registered children living with them. Voters with a disability who cannot travel and hold a NADRA card with the disability logo. People in prison or custody. And polling staff, including police, working away from their own station.
The first group is the widest. The notice says "persons in Government service, members of Armed Forces, their wives and such of their children as are registered voters and ordinarily reside with them". The condition is that they are "stationed at a place other than the place in which their constituency is situated".
The second group is easy to miss. A voter with a physical disability who cannot travel may use a postal ballot, but only with a NADRA identity card that carries the disability logo. Our guide on getting a disability certificate and special CNIC explains how that card is issued. Without the logo, the ECP notice gives no route.
Polling staff have a separate three-day rule
Staff appointed by the Returning Officer for election duty, including police, should apply within three days of their appointment. This applies when they work at a polling station other than the one where they are entitled to vote. Their own deadline is the shorter of the two, so they should not wait for 23 October.
A polling officer posted far from home would otherwise lose the vote. The three-day rule exists so that the ballot paper can be printed, sent and returned before polling day. If an appointment comes late, the three days still start on the day of appointment.
How to apply before 23 October
Take the ECP's prescribed postal ballot form, fill in your voter details, get it endorsed by your office, and give it to the Returning Officer of your constituency before 23 October. The form can be downloaded from ecp.gov.pk or collected from the Returning Officer.
- Confirm your vote is in NA-77 Gujranwala-I or PP-203 Sahiwal-VI. Send your CNIC to 8300, as set out in our guide on checking your vote and polling station.
- Download the postal ballot application form from the ECP downloads page, or ask the Returning Officer for a copy.
- Fill in your name, voter serial number, address, electoral area and constituency, and the address where the ballot should be posted.
- Ask your head of office or department to sign, stamp and forward the form. The ECP says this guards against someone applying in your name.
- Send or hand the form to the Returning Officer so that it arrives by 23 October.
- Keep a copy and a proof of posting.
One rule is easy to forget. The notice says voters who are issued a postal ballot "will not be entitled to vote in person at the polling stations". Choose one way to vote. You cannot try the postal ballot and then also turn up on polling day.
The polling date is reported, not read on an ECP page
Reports put the NA-77 by-election on 8 November 2026, a Sunday. We could not read the poll date for NA-77 or PP-203 on an ECP page, so we treat 8 November as reported. The ECP has appointed appellate tribunals and monitoring teams for both seats, which shows the process is under way.
The same reports list the NA-77 steps before polling: appeals decided by 15 October, withdrawal of candidates by 17 October and symbols on 19 October. We have not read these dates on the ECP's own schedule either. Check the ECP's by-election page before you plan around them.
The last by-election we covered, NA-168 Bahawalpur, drew a turnout of 29.46 per cent. Small groups of voters with postal ballots can still matter in a close seat.
What we could not confirm
The notice does not say how many voters are likely to use postal ballots in either seat. It does not name the Returning Officers or their addresses. It gives no date by which the ballot paper must come back. Contact the Returning Officer's office in Gujranwala or Sahiwal for those details.
The ECP's postal ballot form quotes an older law, the Representation of the People Act, 1976. The ECP still hosts it as the prescribed form. If the Returning Officer's office gives you a different version, use theirs.
Common questions
What is the last date for a postal ballot in NA-77 and PP-203?
It is 23 October 2026, according to the ECP press release of 9 October 2026. Applications must reach the Returning Officer by that date.
Who can vote by postal ballot in these by-elections?
Government servants, armed forces members and their families posted outside the constituency, voters with a NADRA disability-logo card who cannot travel, people in custody and election duty staff away from their own station.
Where do I get the postal ballot form?
From the Returning Officer of your constituency, or by download from the ECP website at ecp.gov.pk. A photocopy of the prescribed form is the safe fallback if copies run out.
Can I still vote at the polling station after getting a postal ballot?
No. The ECP notice says voters issued a postal ballot are not entitled to vote in person. Decide which way you will vote before you apply.
When is the NA-77 Gujranwala-I by-election?
Reports say 8 November 2026. We did not read the date on an ECP page, so treat it as reported until the ECP's schedule confirms it.
Does my employer have to sign the form?
The ECP says the application should be forwarded or endorsed by the voter's office or department, so that no unauthorised person applies for a postal ballot in your name.
How we verified this
What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.
We read the ECP press release page and the ECP press release dated 9 October 2026 on 12 October 2026, at ecp.gov.pk. We also read the ECP postal ballot application form. The poll date, the PP-203 vacancy and the Returning Officers' addresses were not on a page we could read, so they are not stated as fact here.
About the author
Global Affairs & Political Economy Writer
Muhammad Hatim is a book lover who started writing because he enjoys it. At Pakistan Era he writes about international relations, geopolitics and the global economy, with a particular interest in South Asia and the forces behind current events.
