PTI suffers big electoral upset

LAHORE: Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) suffered a severe blow in Sunday’s by-polls, as the opposition alliance gained five more seats in delicately balanced National Assembly, further reducing the ruling party’s margin for formation of the federal government.

Unofficial results of all 11 NA, 24 PA seats

By-elections were held on total 34 National and provincial assembly seats. The PTI had a major upset, as voters in two constituencies – NA-131 Lahore and NA-35 Bannu – changed their mind and elected members of the opposition parties. These seats were won by PTI Chairman Imran Khan just two months back in the general election.

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The by-election results have changed the party position in the National Assembly. Now the opposition numbers have increased by five more seats, while the ruling alliance secured six more seats.

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The PTI number of seats in the National Assembly has increased by four, its ally party, PML-Q’s seats went up by two, PML-N’s number of seats increased by four, and MMA got one more seat in the NA.

The major setback for the PTI came in NA-131 (Lahore), where the PML-N candidate Khwaja Saad Rafique defeated PTI’s Humayun Akhter Khan. This seat was vacated by Prime Minister Imran Khan.

In Punjab, the by-elections were held for 11 seats, out of which the PML-N won six seats, PTI stood second with three seats and two seats were won by independents.

In Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf won five seats, three were won by Awami National Party (ANP), and the PML-N bagged one seat.

For two Sindh Assembly seats, by-elections were held in PS-30 and PS-87 constituencies, and both were won by Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPPP).

In Balochistan, one seat was won by Balochistan National Party (BAP) while the other was won by an independent.

In Lahore, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif could not cast his vote in NA-124 as he did not carry his Computerised National Identity Card (CNIC). Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and other family members including his mother arrived at the Government Technology College Lahore to exercise their right to vote.

Prime Minister Imran Khan polled his vote in NA-53 (Islamabad) where Ali Awan, nominated by the PTI, won the by-election.

By-elections also set a new precedent as the overseas Pakistanis cast their votes for the first time. According to the Election Commission of Pakistan, 84 per cent registered overseas voters cast their vote in by-polls. It has also been learnt that it was a tough day for the IT officials handling e-voting in Pakistan, as more than 10,000 cyber attacks were reported on the officials website. However, all the attacks were foiled and the process completed without any major hindrance.

The National Assembly constituencies where the by-elections were held included NA-35 Bannu, NA-53 Islamabad, NA-56 Attock, NA-60 Rawalpindi, NA-63 Rawalpindi, NA-65 Chakwal, NA-69 Gujrat, NA-103 Faisalabad, NA-124 Lahore, NA-131 Lahore and NA-243 Karachi East.

Elections were held on 24 seats of the provincial assemblies including 11 seats of the Punjab Assembly, nine of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, and two each of Sindh and Balochistan.

For 11 National Assembly seats, by-elections were held in nine constituencies in Punjab, one in Sindh and one in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

The details of results are as under:-

In NA-35 Bannu, Zahid Akram Durrani of Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) won the by-election with 58,068 votes against PTI candidate Naseem Ali Shah, according to unofficial results.

In NA-53 (Islamabad-2), according to unofficial results, Ali Nawaz Awan of the PTI won the by-election with 56,664 votes against PML-N candidate Waqar Ahmed.

In NA-56 (Attock-2), as per unofficial results, the PML-N candidate Malik Sohail Khan won the by-election with 125,665 votes against Malik Khurram Ali Khan of the PTI.

NA-60: According to unofficial results, Sheikh Rashid Shafeeq of the PTI won the elections by defeating PML-N’s candidate Sajjad Khan. The winner got 44.483 votes, while the runner-up secured 43,836 votes, according to unofficial results.

NA-63: According to unofficial results, PTI candidate Mansoor Hayat Khan won the by-election with 64,042 votes against Aqeel Malik of the PML-N.

NA-65: PML-Q's Chaudhry Salik Hussain won by-polls in NA-65 Chakwal with 98,364 votes. Hussain was followed by TLP's Mohammad Yaqoob, who secured 34,811 votes.

NA-69: PML-Q's Moonis Elahi won the seat by defeating PML-N's Imran Zafar with a big margin.

NA-103: According to unofficial results, Ali Gohar Khan of the PML-N won the by-election with 76,626 votes against Muhammad Saadullah of the PTI.

NA-124: PML-N's Shahid Khaqan Abbasi won the by-polls in NA-124 Lahore with 75,012 votes, unofficial and unconfirmed results suggested. Abbasi was followed by PTI's Ghulam Mohayuddin, who could secure 30,115 votes.

NA-131: PML-N's Khwaja Saad Rafique won the seat by defeating PTI's Humayun Akhtar Khan.

NA-243: According to unofficial results, Muhammad Alamgir Khan of the PTI won the seat with 35,727 votes against Amir Waliuddin Chishti of the MQM-P.

PS-30: PPP's Syed Ahmed Raza Shah Jeelani won the election by defeating GDA's Syed Muharram Ali Shah.

PS-87: PPP's Muhammad Sajid won by defeating PTI's Qadir Bux Khan Gabol with 1,508 votes.

PB-35: Independent candidate Nawab Muhammad Aslam Khan won while BAP's Sardar Noor Ahmed stood runner-up.

PB-40: BNP's Muhammad Akbar won the by-polls, while an independent candidate Mir Shafiqur Rehman Mengal secured the second slot.

In Punjab, the PML-N secured six more seats, compared with four of the PTI, while independents claiming victory in two constituencies. The PTI won PP-87 constituency unopposed, while the PML-N won PP-3, PP-22 and PP-118, which were won by the PTI in the 2018 general election.

PP-3: PML-N's Iftikhar Ahmed Khan won PP-3 by-polls with 43,259 votes to his credit. PTI's Muhammad Akbar Khan stood second in the race by securing 43,032 votes.

PP-27: PML-N's Nasir Mehmood won the by-election in PP-27 by bagging 61,542 votes. PTI’s Shahnawaz Raja stood runner-up with 60,886 votes.

PP-87: PTI's Malik Ahmad Khan was elected unopposed.

PP-103: PML-N's Jafar Ali won PP-103 by-polls by securing 39,841 votes. He was followed by PTI's Shamsher Haider who attained 33,209 votes.

PP-118: Independent candidate Chaudhry Bilal Asghar won PP-118 by-polls with 56,337 votes. He was followed by PTI’s Asad Zaman, who secured 50,326 votes.

PP-164: PML-N's Sohail Shaukat Butt emerged victorious in PP-164 by-election by securing 34,333 votes. He was followed by PTI's Yousuf Ali with 26,900 votes.

PP-165: PML-N's Malik Saiful Malook Khokhar won by-polls in PP-165 by bagging 28,589 votes, according to unofficial and unconfirmed results. PTI's Mohammad Mansha Sindhu stood runner-up with 23,149 votes to his credit.

PP-201: PTI's Samsam Bukhari won by-polls in PP-201 Sahiwal with 58,280 votes, unofficial and unconfirmed results suggested. Bukhari was followed by PML-N's Muhammad Tufail, who secured 51,622 votes.

PP-222: Independent candidate Qasim Abbas Khan won by-election in PP-222 by bagging 38,327 votes. PTI's Sohail Ahmed Noon followed Khan with 31,893 votes.

PP-261: PTI’s Fawaz Ahmed won PP-261 by-election with 29,526 votes. Ahmed was followed by PPP's Makhdoom Hassan Raza Hashim, who bagged 14,995 votes.

PP-272: PTI’s Zahra Batool won PP-272 by-polls with 2,401 votes. She was followed by independent candidate Syed Haroon Ahmed Sultan. She defeated her own son.

PP-292: PML-N's Sardar Awais Leghari won the by-election in PP-292 by attaining 32,845 votes, unofficial and unconfirmed results suggested. PTI's Sardar Maqsood Laghari stood runner-up with 21,938 votes.

PK-3: PML-N's Sardar Khan won with 16,824 votes, according to unofficial and unconfirmed results. PTI's Sajid Ali stood second with 15,911 votes.

PK-7: ANP’s Waqar Ahmad Khan won by securing 14,096 votes. PTI's Fazal Maula followed Khan with 13,425 votes.

PK-44: PTI's Aqibullah Khan won by-election with 18,676 votes, unofficial and unconfirmed results suggested. He was followed by ANP's Ghulam Hassan, who secured 17,067 votes.

PK-53: ANP’s Ahmed Khan won by-election in PK-53 with 19065 votes to his credit. PTI’s Muhammad Abdul Salam stood runner-up with 19044 votes.

PK-61: PTI's Mohammad Ibrahim Khattak won PK-61 by-election by attaining 14,557 votes. He was followed by ANP's Noor Alam Khan with 9,282 votes.

PK-64: PTI’s Liaquat Khan won by-election in PK-64 securing 22,775 votes. ANP’s Mohammad Shahid stood runner-up with 9,560 votes. Khan was followed by ANP's Muhammad Shahid with 54,90 votes.

PK-78: ANP's Samar Haroon Bilour won PK-78 by-election by attaining 20,916 votes. PTI’s Muhammad Irfan Abdul Salman followed Bilour with 16819 votes.

PK-97: PTI's Faisal Amin Khan won PK-97 by-election by bagging 18,170 votes, unofficial and unconfirmed results suggested. Khan was followed by PPP's Farhan Afzal Malik, who secured 7,609 votes.

PK-99: PTI's Aghaz Ikramullah Gandapur won by-polls in PK-99 by securing 30,330 votes. The independent candidate Fatehullah Khan stood runner-up in the race with 22,825 votes.