PTI wins Multan by-election

MULTAN: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidate Wasif Mazhar on Sunday won the by-election in Punjab Assembly constituency PP-218 Multan, according to unofficial and unconfirmed results, Geo News reported.

The PTI candidate bagged 46,988 votes, according to unofficial results from all 138 polling stations. He was followed by Pakistan Peoples Party’s Arshad Raan, who secured 39,486 votes.

The PP-218 seat fell vacant after the death of PTI MPA Malik Mazhar Abbas Raan. Besides the PTI an PPP candidate, independent candidates Malik Shahid Abbas, Muhammad Tufail, Muhammad Ramzan and Muhammad Israrul Haq Cheema were also in the race.

The polling concluded peacefully amid tight security arrangements. According to state media, the voters who had entered their relevant polling stations continued to cast their votes even after the official time ended. No untoward incident took place, however, there were

reports of heated arguments between supporters of the main candidates.

As many as 1,887 police officers were deputed at the polling stations. Police had also set up a special control room to monitor security arrangements. A total of 138 polling stations, including 25 for male, 24 female and 89 combined were set up in the constituency. Among these, 38 polling stations were declared sensitive.