Oct 16 by-polls: PTI wins majority of seats in all three provinces

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan and his party have won a majority of seats in the by-elections held on eight National Assembly and three Punjab Assembly seats on Sunday, Aaj News reported.

According to unofficial results, of eight NA seats, PTI chairman Imran Khan contested the election on seven seats and won six of them. Similarly, of three Punjab Assembly seats, PTI candidates have won two and lost one. The PPP won the remaining two NA seats, while the PML-N could secure only one Punjab Assembly seat.

The detailed results are given below:

PP- 241 (Bahawalnagar)

As per results from all polling stations, PTI candidate Malik Muzaffar has won this seat with 59,957 votes. PML-N's Amanullah Bajwa secured 48,147 votes.

PP-209 (Khanewal)

According to unofficial results, PTI candidate Faisal Khan Niazi won the by-election by securing 71,586 votes against PML-N’s Chaudhry Ziaur Rehman who bagged 57,603 votes.

PP-139 (Sheikhupura-V)

Unofficial results from all polling stations show that PML-N's Chaudhry Iftikhar Ahmed has won the by-election with 40,829 votes against PTI’s Muhammad Abu Bakr who secured 37,712 votes.

NA-22 (Mardan-III)

PTI chief Imran Khan has defeated JUI-F’s candidate Maulana Qasim by a margin of 8,500 votes. The PTI chief secured 76,681 votes while the rival candidate came second with 68,181 votes.

NA-24 (Charsadda-II)

PTI Chairman Imran Khan has defeated ANP senior leader Aimal Wali Khan in the Charsadda by-election with a lead of over 10,000 votes. Imran received 78,589 votes while Aimal could manage 68,356 votes.

NA-31 (Peshawar-V)

According to unofficial results of all 265 polling stations, the PTI chief won the by-election with 57,824 votes against ANP’s Ghulam Ahmed Bilour who secured 32,253 votes.

However, Bilour refused to concede the defeat and announced to challenge the result in court.

NA-57 (Multan)

Pakistan Peoples Party's (PPP) Ali Musa Gillani defeated PTI’s Meher Bano Qureshi with a margin of almost 20,000 votes. Ali secured 1073,27 votes while Meher Bano received 82,141 votes.

NA-108 (Faisalabad-VIII)

Unofficial results from all polling stations show that Imran Khan has secured the seat with 96,104, while PML-N’s Abid Sher Ali secured 72,319 votes.

NA-118 (Nankana Sahib-II)

Imran Khan is leading with 24,217 votes, while PML-N's Dr Shezrah Mansab is closely behind with 20,761 votes.

NA-237 (Malir-II)

As per unofficial results from all 194 polling stations, PPP candidate Abdul Hakeem Baloch has secured the seat with 32,025 votes, while Imran Khan received 22,125 votes.

NA-239 (Korangi)

PTI candidate Imran Khan was leading with 6,195 votes, as per unofficial results of 46 polling stations. MQM-Pakistan candidate Syed Nayer Raza was behind with 1,192 votes.

The constituencies of the National Assembly where the by-elections are being held include Mardan, Charsadda, Peshawar, Faisalabad, Nankana Sahib, Malir, Korangi, and Multan whereas the Punjab Assembly's constituencies are Sheikhupura, Khanewal, and Bahawalnagar.

By-polls to 8 NA, 3 Punjab PA seats tomorrow: PTI’s prospects still bright?

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has postponed the by-election on one NA vacant seat from Kurram tribal district NA-45 due to the law and order situation.

As many as 100 candidates are in the run for a total of 11 legislative seats with 747 polling stations marked as highly sensitive and 694 as sensitive.

The number of voters registered in the 11 constituencies is 4,488,000 comprising 2,460,000 male and 2,028,000 female voters, according to the data issued by the ECP.

The number of polling stations in these constituencies is 2,935 comprising 1,416 combined polling stations (for male and female voters), 806 polling stations for male and 713 for female voters, the data suggests.

Some 747 of these polling stations are highly sensitive and 694 sensitive from the security point of view, according to ECP.

By-polls to 8 NA, 3 Punjab PA seats today

The number of polling booths in these polling stations is counted at 9,869 comprising 5,294 male and 4,575 female booths.

Premier urges people to participate in the polling process

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has urged the public to fully participate in by-elections.

"It is a constitutional and legal process and only the people have the right to choose who they want," he tweeted.

"Voters should decide wisely because the development and prosperity of you and your country depend on it."

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb also urged the public to root out the pretense, fraud, and lies of Haqiqi Azadi with the power of the vote.

Security arrangements

On Friday, the electoral body notified the deployment of Frontier Constabulary as a first-tier responder outside the polling stations from October 15 to 17.

Pakistan Rangers (Punjab and Sindh), and Frontier Corps (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) would serve as Quick Response Force (QRF) for the second-tier security and Pakistan Army was assigned third-tier security as QRF under Article 220 of the Constitution of Pakistan, the notification stated.

This article provides that it shall be the duty of all executive authorities in the federation and in the provinces to assist the ECP in the discharge of its functions.

The political parties and the candidates must follow the provision of the law and exercise self-restraint so polls could be held in a peaceful manner on October 16, 2022. Legal action would be taken against those political leaders and parties for violating the rule, the ECP spokesman said.

PTI's prospects?

Barring NA-157, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan is contesting elections against his political rivals on all the remaining seven NA seats.

All set for by-elections in KP today

Gohar Bano Qureshi, the daughter of PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi, is contesting a by-election from NA-157 against Ali Musa Gillani, the son of former Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani from Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the PTI has been in power for more than nine years, the PDM-backed candidates may be unable to give a tough time to Imran Khan on the vacant seats, according to an anecdotal survey conducted by Business Recorder.

On NA-22, Mardan-III, PTI chairman has a slight edge over Maulana Mohammad Qasim of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JIU-F) backed by the rest of the political parties and the PDM. In NA-24 (Charsadda-II), PTI chairman Imran Khan will face Awami National Party (ANP) provincial president Aimal Wali Khan, backed by PDM and its allied parties, including Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). According to observers, the ANP candidate is unlikely to give a tough time to the PTI chairman on the slot left vacant following the resignation by PTI MNA Fazal Muhammad.

Aimal Wali Khan had lost the contest for the provincial seat from this constituency in the 2018 general elections and his father Asfandyar Wali Khan had lost the NA seat to the PTI candidate, in spite of this being Asfandyar Wali Khan’s home constituency.

Countrywide by-elections: Bilawal asks people to vote for his party

In NA-31 (Peshawar-V), former MNA and ANP heavyweight Haji Ghulam Ahmad Bilour will test his luck against PTI chairman Imran Khan. However, the Business Recorder’s survey indicates that the PTI chairman’s position is strong in the old city despite being a home constituency of the Bilour family.

In Punjab, the by-polls will also be held on three vacant seats – NA-108 (Faisalabad-VIII), NA-157 (Multan-IV), and NA-118 (Nankana Sahib-II) – Imran Khan is contesting on two seats except for NA-157 (Multan-IV) where Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s daughter Mehar Bano Qureshi will contest against Yousaf Raza Gilani’s son Ali Musa Gilani of the PPP. Sources told BR that this will be a tough contest, as the fathers of both candidates have a considerable following.

In NA-118, Nankana Sahib-II, it is expected to be a tight contest between Imran Khan and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate Dr Shezra Mansab Ali Khan, while Syed Afzal Hussain Shah of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) is also in the race. Dr Shezra Mansab Ali Khan is the joint candidate of the PDM and other allied parties.

On NA-108 (Faisalabad-VIII), there are a total of 12 candidates in the run, but the real contest is expected between PTI chairman Imran Khan and PDM’s joint candidate Abid Sher Ali of PML-N. In Karachi, the by-polls will be held on NA-237 (Malir-II) and NA-239 (Korangi-I) which had fallen vacant when PTI’s Jameel Ahmad Khan and Mohammad Akram Cheema resigned as per their Chairman’s directives.

In NA-237 (Malir-II), PPP’s Abdul Hakim Baloch is the PDM and allied parties’ joint candidate. While the 2018 elections reports indicated that PTI had considerable assistance from the establishment that enabled it to sweep the polls in Karachi yet political pundits are reluctant to bet against Imran Khan given his current popularity wave.

This constituency is regarded as the PPP’s stronghold but it may not win this seat because of the provincial government’s poor performance and public wrath due to rising prices.

Background

The by-polls were originally scheduled on 12 seats; nine NA and three PA, before the Interior Ministry recently approached the ECP with the request to postpone the polls on all the 12 seats citing terror threats and engagements of the law enforcement agencies in flood relief operations. The ECP postponed the by-election in NA-45 Kurram only, deciding to hold these polls on the remaining 11 seats as per routine.

The Interior Ministry again wrote a letter to the electoral body on Thursday with the advice to hold the by-elections “cautiously”, citing serious terror threats.

Earlier this month, the ECP said that it demanded 600 million rupees from the federal government to hold October 16 (today’s) by-elections but the required amount of funds was released— cautioning that the conduct of by-elections would not be possible if funds were not released timely.

The matter involving the delay in the release of funds was taken up with Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and Finance Ministry, said a statement issued then— after an ECP meeting.