PTI's Mahmood Moulvi wins NA-245 by-poll

KARACHI: PTI's Mahmood Moulvi has defeated MQM-P Moeed Anwar and retained the NA-245 seat, showed the unofficial results of the by-poll.

Moulvi received 29,475 votes after count from the 263 polling stations was completed. MQM-P's Moeed Anwar remained second with 13,193 votes. The voter turnout in the constituency was 11.8%, the Election Commission of Pakistan shared.

The seat was left vacant after PTI's Dr Aamir Liaquat Hussain death in June.

'Karachi chooses who it stands with'

In the lead up to the final results coming in, PTI leader Ali Zaidi commented on Moulvi's possible win and said that the people of Karachi have chosen who they stand with.

"This was a difficult contest . It was raining a lot," he said, adding that even though the whole city is struggling with havor wreaked by rains and flooding, the people arrived to vote at the polling stations.

Earlier, PTI's candidate Mahmood Moulvi led the NA-245 by-poll with 28,405 votes as per unofficial results from 250 polling stations.

MQM-P's candidate Moeed Anwar stood second with 12,300 votes, followed by TLP's Muhammad Ahmed Raza who secured 9,002 votes.

Former MQM leader Farooq Sattar only managed to get 3,313 votes earlier, while PSP's Syed Hafeezuddin received 1,041 votes.

Voting for by-polls in the NA-245 constituency ended at 5pm, after which counting of votes began.

The by-poll's voting on Karachi's crucial NA-245 constituency started at 8am on Sunday morning an ended at 5pm, with 15 candidates in the run for the coveted seat. 

The contesting candidates included MQM-P's Mueed Anwar, the PTI's Mehmood Maulvi, the Pak Sarzameen Party's (PSP) Syed Hafeezud Din, the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan'S (TLP) Muhammed Ahmed Raza and MQM Bahali Committee's Farooq Sattar as an independent candidate.

Strict security at polling stations

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said it finalised arrangements to hold the NA-245 by-polls in Karachi amid strict security.

The electoral body said 263 polling stations have been set up, of which 60 have been declared sensitive and 203 most sensitive.

The by-poll in the constituency was scheduled for July 27, however, the ECP postponed the election owing to heavy rains in the metropolis.

No gunmen allowed

A strict security plan was chalked out to maintain law and order during polling, according to the ECP.

Additional Inspector General of Police Karachi Javed Alam Odho said that paratroopers are standing guard at the polling stations besides the police.

The police official said no political leader will be allowed to have a private gunman. There are CCTV cameras at highly sensitive polling stations, he said.