LAHORE – The ruling PML-N is ahead of PTI-backed SIC’s candidates on the majority of the seats as the vote count continued after the completion of voting in by-elections in 21 National Assembly and Provincial Assembly constituencies in Pakistan on Sunday.
The voting for the first major by-poll, which took place after the February 8 general elections, began at 8 am and continued until 5 pm without any breaks, amid the suspension of mobile phones and incidents of violence in some localities.
The federal government had earlier announced that cellular services would remain temporarily suspended in specific districts of Punjab and Balochistan during the by-elections on April 21-22.
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) issued a statement, saying that the decision has been taken to safeguard the integrity and security of the electoral process. Moreover, at the request of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), the federal government also approved the deployment of Pakistan Army and Civil Armed Forces (CAF) troops during the polling.
The elections are being held on five NA seats, 12 Punjab Assembly seats, two each in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan Assemblies and one in Sindh Assembly. The NA seats include NA-8 and NA-44 (KP) NA-119 and NA-132 (Punjab) and NA-196 (Sindh). Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has won one seat, NA-207, Nawabshah, from where Aseefa Bhutto Zardari has been elected unopposed.
The provincial assembly seats include PK-22 and PK-91 (KP), PB-20, and PB-22 (Balochistan) and PS-80 (Sindh). The Punjab Assembly seats where the by-polls are taking place include PP-32 (Gujrat), PP-36 (Wazirabad), PP-54 (Narowal), PP-93 (Bhakkar), PP-139 (Sheikhupura), PP-147, PP-149, PP-158, PP-164 (Lahore), PP-266 (Rahim Yar Khan), and PP-290 (Dera Ghazi Khan).
NA-119 (Lahore) was vacated by Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Ali Pervez Malik is up against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-backed Sunni Ittehad Council’s (SIC) Shahzad Farooq for the seat. Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan’s (TLP) candidate, Muhammad Zaheer, and six independent candidates are also vying for the seat.
Elections are also being held on PP-147 (Lahore), which PML-N’s Hamza Shehbaz vacated. PML-N’s Malik Riaz, SIC’s Muhammad Madni, Shahrukh Jamal, TLP’s Muhammad Yasin, and eight independent candidates are aiming for the slot. The seat PP-149 (Lahore) was vacated by Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party’s (IPP) Abdul Aleem Khan. IPP’s Shoaib Siddiqui, SIC’s Zeeshan Rashid, TLP’s Muhammad Zaheer, and 11 independents are seeking to win the seat.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vacated NA-132 (Kasur) and two of his provincial assembly seats in Lahore, PP-158, and PP-164, while retaining his NA-123 seat in the National Assembly. A very tough contest is expected in NA-132 in which SIC’s Muhammad Hussain Dogar is contesting against PML-N’s Malik Rasheed Ahmad Khan, whereas the TLP is also in the contest. PML-N’s Chaudhry Muhammad Nawaz, SIC’s Moonis Elahi, TLP’s Muhammad Munir, and 19 independent candidates are vying for the PP-158 seat vacated by PM Shehbaz. Meanwhile, SIC’s Muhammad Yousuf and PML-N’s Rashid Minhas are eyeing the PP-164 slot.
Meanwhile, in Sindh, voting is taking place on NA-196 (Qamber Shadadkot). This seat was vacated by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari. In KP, the polling is taking place on the NA-44 (Dera Ismail Khan) seat, which was left vacant after Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur retained his provincial assembly seat, PK-113. By-poll is also being conducted on the NA-8 (Bajaur) seat, the election for the seat was suspended ahead of the February 8 general elections after one of the candidates Rehan Zeb Khan was murdered.
By-Election 2024 Unofficial Results:
Independent candidate Mubarak Zaib has won the seat by securing 67,231 votes. PTI backed SIC candidate Gul Zafar Khan was runner up with 42,372 votes.NA-44 DI Khan
SIC’s Faisal Amin Khan has won by bagging 56,995 votes, defeating PPP’s Abdul Rasheed Khan Kundi who could get 9,533 votes.
NA-119 Lahore
PML-N’s Ali Parvez Malik has won this seat with 60,918 votes, defeating SIC’s Shahzad Farooq who secured 34,094 votes.
NA-132 Kasur
PML-N’s Rashid Ahmad Khan won by securing 146,859 votes. SIC’s Sardar Muhammad Hussain Dogar got 90,980 votes.
NA-196 Qambar Shahdadkot
PPP’s Khursheed Ahmed Junejo won by getting 91,583 votes, beating TLP’s Muhammad Ali who could only get 2,793 votes.
PK-22 Bajaur
Independent candidate Mubarak Zaib leads with 2,212 votes. SIC’s Gul Dawood Khan is behind with 1,622 votes.
PK-91 Kohat
SIC’s Dawood Shah won the seat by getting 22,193 votes, defeating Independent candidate Abdul Masaud who could bag only 11,722 votes.
PP-22 Talagang
PML-N’s Falak Sher Awan is ahead of SIC’s Muhammad Nasir Ahmad with a narrow margin.
PP-32 Gujrat
PML’s Musa Elahi won by securing 71,357 votes, defeating SIC’s Parvez Elahi who got 37,106 votes.
PP-36 Wazirabad
PML-N’s Adnan Afzal Chattha won the seat by getting 74,779 votes, defeating SIC’s M Fiaz Chattha who got 58,682 votes.
PP-54 Narowal
PML-N’s Ahmad Iqbal Chaudhry won the seat by securing 60,351 votes, defeating SIC’s Awais Qasim who got 46,686 votes.
PP-93 Bhakkar
PML-N’s Saeed Akbar Khan won the seat by securing 63,021 votes. Independent candidate Muhammad Afzal Khan Dhandla secured 59,124 votes.
PP-139 Sheikhupura
PML-N’s Rana Afzal Hussain won by getting 46,585 votes. SIC’s Ejaz Hussain secured 29,833 votes.
PP-147 Lahore
PML-N’s Muhammad Riaz won the seat by securing 31,860 votes, defeating SIC’s Muhammad Khan Madani who got 16,630 votes.
PP-149 Lahore
IPP candidate Muhammad Shoaib Siddiqui secured the seat by obtaining 47,722 votes. SIC’s Zeeshan Rasheed bagged 26,200 votes.
PP-158 Lahore
PML-N’s Chaudhry Muhammad Nawaz secured the seat by getting 40,165 votes. SIC’s Ch Moonis Elahi bagged 28,018 votes.
PP-164 Lahore
PML-N’s Rashid Minhas won the seat by getting 31,499 votes. SIC’s Muhammad Yousaf secured 25,721 votes.
PP-266 Rahim Yar Khan
PPP’s Mumtaz Ali is leading against PML-N’s Muhammad Safdar Khan Laghari with a narrow margin.
PP-290 Dera Ghazi Khan
PML-N’s Ali Ahmad Laghari won the seat by bagging 66,413 votes. SIC’s Sardar Muhammad Mohiuddin Khosa is runner up with 19,322 votes.
PB-20 Khuzdar
BNP’s Mir Jehanzeb Mengal won the seat by securing 30,455 votes. Independent candidate Mir Shafiqur Rehman Mengal got 14,311 votes.
PB-22 Lasbela
PML-N’s Muhammad Zareen Khan Magsi has won the seat by securing 50,437 votes. Independent candidate Shah Nawaz Hassan got 3,875 votes.
PB-50 Kalla Abdullah
PkMAP’s Mir Wais Khan Achakzai is leading against ANP’s Zamarak Khan with a narrow margin.
