PML-N candidate wins PP-196 Multan by-poll

MULTAN: Rana Mahmood-ul-Hassan of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) won on Thursday by-election at Multan’s PP-196 constituency defeating main rival Rana Abdul Jabbar of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) with a margin of over 10,000 votes.

According to unofficial and unverified results, the candidate of ruling party bagged 28,324 votes while Jabbar of PTI managed to secure 18,112 votes.

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) candidate Chaudhry Hussain Arain came third with only 6,519 votes.

Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif, in a statement issued immediately after the news break, said the masses have yet again rejected the politics of sit-ins by voting for his party’s candidate.

He said the victory was a result of unconditional and selfless services rendered to the masses by his party in the province.

Polling began at 8:00 AM and continued until 5:00 PM, when election staff began the counting process.

Voters came out in large numbers despite soaring heat of Multan. They lined up in long queues to cast their ballots, while disabled voters also exercised their right to vote. Several polling stations were functioning without even fans in the scorching heat.

The PP-196 provincial assembly seat fell vacant due to disqualification of provincial minister Ch.Abdul Waheed Arian.

Earlier during polling, workers of the PTI and PML-N clashed with each other on at least two occasions.

The first incident took place at polling station number 16, where women workers of both parties quarreled with each other. The second incident took place outside a polling station set up near the local timber, where workers of both parties clashed with each other, trading blows in the absence of police personnel.

Violation of election laws was also witnessed at several polling stations, with parties providing transport to voters and setting up camps within 100 metres of polling stations.

PML-N candidate Rana Mahmood-ul-Hassan also arrived to cast his vote with party workers and openly displayed his ballot, a violation of the Election Commission’s code of conduct.

133 polling stations were set up for 176,315 registered voters in the constituency. 47 polling stations were declared sensitive. DCO Multan had declared a local holiday today owing to the elections.