PPP’s Mandokhel edges out PML-N’s Miftah in Karachi by-election

Ag Agencies

KARACHI: The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) emerged as a surprise victor of the by-election in Karachi’s NA-249 constituency, defeating the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) by fewer than 700 votes, according to unofficial and provisional results.

According to Geo News, PPP’s Abdul Qadir Mandokhel bagged 16,156 votes to win the seat, followed by PML-N’s Miftah Ismail who secured 15,473. Nazir Ahmed of the outlawed TLP trailed third by receiving 11,125 votes. PSP’s Mustafa Kamal acquired 9,227 votes, followed by PTI’s Amjad Afridi with 8,922 votes and MQM-P’s Muhammed Mursaleen with 7,511 votes.

The PPP and PML-N had both claimed victory for their candidates midway into the count on Thursday, and after the PPP edged ahead, the PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz said the results of the “stolen” election would be challenged.

“The Election Commission should have withheld the results of this controversial election,” she said. “Even if it doesn’t withhold the result, this win will be temporary. This seat will return to PML-N soon,” Maryam claimed.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), which lost the seat, said the manner in which the election was handled proved the need for electoral reform. Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry on Friday said the way PPP held the system “hostage” for Karachi’s one constituency had made the need for electoral reforms more acute than before. “Once again, I ask the opposition to consider the suggestions of Prime Minister Imran Khan,” he tweeted, adding that the low turnout in the NA-249 by-election indicated that the people were losing faith in the electoral process.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), meanwhile, promised that all complaints would be heard in light of the law and if any evidence of irregularity was found, strict action will be taken.

The ECP also said about 73,471 people exercised their right to vote during the by-poll in NA-249 Karachi on Thursday, against a total 339,591 registered voters. The overall turnout remained 21.64 per cent in the constituency.

Of the 73,471 votes that were cast, 731 were rejected, while remaining 72,740 were in the final count. The registered number of male voters was 201,656 and female voters was 137,935 while those who exercised their right to vote were 50,259 men and 23,212 women.