PPP’s losing candidate from NA-237 to challenge election results

A candidate of the Pakistan Peoples Party from NA-237 in District Malir has announced to challenge the results of his constituency, from where a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf candidate won, in an election tribunal.

Abdul Hakeem Baloch, the losing PPP candidate made the announcement on Thursday outside Malir Courts after collecting the electoral results of his constituency from the returning officer concerned.

Baloch said that the final result of his constituency had been announced at around 6pm on Thursday after undue delay because since Wednesday night, reports kept pouring in from different polling stations of the area that he had been leading in the vote count in NA-237.

He said the announcement of the result in his constituency had been deliberately delayed in order to alter the election result to favour his rival candidate. He added that in most parts of his constituency areas, especially in the rural areas, polling booths were established in such congested places that it slowed down the voting process throughout the polling day. Whereas, in Malir Cantonment, which also fell in his constituency, the polling stations were relatively spacious allowing voters, most of whom voted in favour of his rival candidate, to vote with ease and without any hassle, he claimed.

PPP’s rival candidate, Captain (retd) Jameel of PTI, won the election in NA-237 after securing around 33,289 votes. Hakeem Baloch secured 31,907 votes, as per the results. It should be noted that constituencies PS-88 and PS-89, which both fall under NA-237, have been won by PPP candidates Ghulam Murtaza Baloch with 22,561 votes and Saleem Baloch with 23,923 votes, respectively. In PS-88, PTI’s runner-up candidate Captain (retd) Rizwan secured 16,386 votes, while in PS-89 PTI’s runner-up candidate Ali Hussain bagged 18,781 votes.