PPP wins PS-114 Karachi by-polls

KARACHI: Pakistan People's Party (PPP) candidate Saeed Ghani has emerged victorious in PS-114 Karachi by-polls, by bagging 23,840 votes, unofficial and unconfirmed results from all 92 polling stations suggested.

Ghani was followed by Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan's Kamran Tessori, who secured 18,106 votes.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz's Ali Akbar Gujjar stood third in the run with 7,175 votes to his credit, while Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's Najeeb Haroon bagged 5,942 votes.

Bilawal, CM Sindh congratulate Saeed Ghani

PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, CM Murad Ali Shah and Speaker Sindh Assembly Agha Siraj Durrani have congratulated Ghani for winning the much-hyped by-election.

Durrani said Ghani's victory is an expression of people's confidence in Bilawal Bhutto Zardari's leadership.

Polling process

Polling for the hotly contested PS-114 by-election in Karachi began at 8am and continued uninterrupted until 5pm on Sunday.

For the first time, Result Management System and Result Transmission System were introduced as a pilot project in PS-114 by-polls for efficient result-making.

Apart from the police, around 2,000 Rangers personnel had been deployed in and around the polling stations to ensure the voting process went smoothly.

Disorder

At around 9:30am, disorder was witnessed at a public school in Chanesar Goth when workers of two groups clashed after Pakistan Peoples Party candidate Saeed Ghani was refused entry into a polling station despite 'having an ECP letter'. 

Voting was temporarily suspended at polling stations 79, 85, 86, 87 and 90, established inside Owais Qarni public school, following the incident but resumed after additional contingents of the Rangers were called in. 

However, an Election Commission of Pakistan spokesperson said later that the voting process did not stop despite the disturbances outside. 

Clashes between PPP and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan workers were also reported from Defence View locality.

DG Rangers visits PS-114

DG Rangers Maj Gen Mohammad Saeed, speaking to the media after visiting Chanesar Goth, said two people have been arrested after supporters of two parties clashed with each other.

He also inquired from voters regarding the problems faced by them.

Questioning from the arrested persons is under way, he informed further.

Speaking to the media later, Ghani said “our intentions are clear”. He said a relative of his, who is mentally disturbed, has been detained by the Rangers. 

During a visit to the constituency early Sunday morning, the Rangers DG assured voters to exercise their right of casting the ballot without fear.

There are a total of 193,000 registered voters in the constituency, according to the Election Commission of Pakistan.

The constituency comprises the localities of Mehmoodabad No 1 to Mehmoodabad No 6, Chanesar Goth, Manzoor Colony, Akhter Colony, Azam Basti, Kashmir Colony, Defence View and the KAECHS (Karachi Administration Employees Cooperative Housing Society).

All 92 polling stations of the constituency have been declared ‘sensitive’ in terms of security.

In a statement, Sindh IG AD Khawaja issued instructions to ensure the polling was carried out in a transparent and impartial manner. He said the relevant SHOs will remain in their areas till the voting is concluded.

The provincial police chief also directed to ensure the implementation of Section 144, which has been imposed in the area in light of the by-election. In light of the law's imposition, security officials confiscated mobile phones of the polling staff, saying they would be returned upon conclusion of polling. 

Do-or-die contest 

The by-poll has turned into a do-or-die contest among the PPP, MQM-P and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

In the May 2013 general elections, PS-114 was bagged by Irfanullah Marwat on a PML-N ticket but his victory was declared void by the election tribunal in July 2014.

On May 11, the Supreme Court dismissed Marwat’s appeal challenging the election tribunal’s decision paving the way for the by-polls.

The by-poll campaign took an interesting turn recently when Marwat announced to support the PTI, which has fielded one of its founding members, Haroon.

In the 2013 polls, PML-N’s Marwat bagged 37,130 votes while MQM’s Rauf Siddiqui got 30,305 votes. Moreover, PTI’s Israr Abbasi got 13,807 votes while PPP’s Sajjad Ahmed Pappi only 3,827 votes.