PML-N leads in closely contested Karachi by-poll

Ag APP

KARACHI: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was leading the by-election for the closely contested NA-249 constituency of Karachi on Thursday, while the Pakistan Peoples Party’s candidate was a close second after a polling process which saw a considerably low turnout.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Amjad Afridi, PPP’s Abdul Qadir Mandokhel, Pakistan Sarzameen Party’s (PSP) Mustafa Kamal, Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan’s (MQM-P) Hafiz Muhammad Mursaleen and PML-N’s Miftah Ismail were the major players among the 30 contenders for the seat left vacant after resignation of Faisal Vawda in March.

As this story went to print, unofficial and preliminary results by Geo News showed PML-N’s Miftah Ismail leading in 52 of the 276 polling stations with 2,413 votes.

PPP’s Abdul Qadir Mandokhel was in second place with 2,122 votes and TLP-affiliated candidate Nazeer Ahmed was in third place with 2,091 votes. Former Karachi mayor Mustafa Kamal was in fourth place with 1,777 votes, MQM-P’s Hafiz Muhammad Mursaleen was fifth with 1,510 votes, whereas PTI candidate Amjad Afridi was in last place with 1,296 votes.

The constituency has around 276 polling stations, comprising 796 polling booths — 458 for male and 338 for female voters. The National Assembly seat for the constituency has a registered 339,591 voters, including 201,636 male voters and 137,935 female voters, though Geo News reporters said turnout was as low as 10 per cent in certain polling stations.

The NA-249 election is high-stakes for the PTI because it was a seat that was occupied by its own Faisal Vawda, and its victory would reaffirm the constituents’ faith in the party.

Earlier, when polling began for the NA-249, Karachi West II constituency at 8.00am, the turnout was tepid, despite the strident security arrangements.

State media reported that while a public holiday was declared in the constituency and proper facilities were ensured by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and city authorities, Ramadan may have been a factor in the low turnout. PTI’s Member of Sindh Assembly, Sidra Imran, said the hot weather could also have resulted in the low turnout.

Candidates and their supporters talking to state media acknowledged the lacklustre turnout, which they believed reflected a certain “sense of detachment among the voters” belonging to the constituency.

Polling was largely uneventful though there were the typical incidents of lawmakers present in the constituency during voting, which is against election rules. The ECP ordered six PTI lawmakers to leave. They were Firdous Shamim Naqvi, Raja Azhar, Saeed Afridi, Bilal Ghaffar, Shah Nawaz Jadoon and Shahzad Awan, Geo News reported. Earlier, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry expressed confidence that the PTI would win the election. In a tweet, he said all polls showed that PTI was ahead of all other parties.

PTI’s Parliamentary Leader in Sindh Assembly Bilal Ghaffar and PTI Karachi President and MPA Khurrum Sher Zaman also said they would win back the NA-249 seat.

PML-N President and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif released a message to residents of NA-249 amid the by-poll in the Karachi constituency. The PML-N president appealed to the people of NA-249 to leave their homes and exercise their constitutional and democratic right to vote responsibly.—News Desk/APP