Islamabad, Dec 18 (IANS): The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has decided to immediately hold bypolls in eight constituencies of national and provincial assemblies, which have been pending in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The decision was taken on Thursday at an ECP meeting chaired by Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja, during which he instructed poll officials to issue the by-election schedule at the earliest while keeping in mind the present SOPs against the pandemic, The Express Tribune reported.

The two National Assembly seats and six provincial Sssembly seats are vacant because of the to death of the elected lawmakers.

The by-elections across the country had been delayed for the past eight months on the instructions of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) due to the raging pandemic.

Thursday's development came after the ECP on December 1 announced that it decided not to hold any pending bypolls before January 31, 2021.