The result

The NA120 by-election results should be a matter of concern for the PML-N. The total registered voters in NA120 are 320,000, but only 120,000 voters came to cast the vote. This poor turnout is a red flag for the ruling party which has bagged only 59,000 votes winning by a slim margin of 13,000 votes against the PTI.

The ruling party got votes from merely 19 percent of registered voters in NA-120 which happens to be the home constituency of the Sharifs. During the 2013 elections, Nawaz Sharif got 91,000 votes in NA-120. Now, the party’s vote bank reduced to 59,000 votes while the PTI’s went down by 7,000 votes.

Taimur Nawaz (Islamabad)