PML-N favourite to win NA-120 by-poll, say surveys

Survey conducted in the NA-120 constituency of Lahore show that majority of respondents favour the Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) in the upcoming by election on September 17.

In a survey conducted by Gallup Pakistan, respondents were asked who they would vote for in NA-120. 53 per cent said they would vote for PML-N, 29 per cent said PTI, 3 per cent said PPP while one pecent said they would be voting for the Jamaat-e-Islami.

The complete findings of the survey will be made available on Wednesday.

A survey conducted by a private consultancy firm, Pulse Consultant, has revealed that PML-N's Begum Kulsoom Nawaz is a favourite to win the upcoming by-poll in NA-120. 

The Pulse survey, with a sample size of 1,520 people drawn from all union councils of the constituency, said that 62 per cent of the people favour PML-N while 23pc of the respondents favoured PTI. 

When asked who will win the by-polls, 69pc said PML-N would win while 23pc said PTI's Yasmin Rashid would emerge victorious. 

Other deciding factors detailed by the report included the fact that NA-120 has traditionally been a stronghold of the PML-N and the turnout rate is also expected to hover around 94pc as respondents were eager to cast their votes. 

The local population of the constituency is also satisfied with the performance of the provincial and federal governments (72pc and 62 pc respectively), added the survey report. 

Regarding corruption allegations levelled against Nawaz Sharif, 55pc of the respondents in the Pulse report said the allegations were wrong while 45pc agreed.

Majority of the respondents in the survey also disagreed with the disqualification of Sharif, with 59pc against the decision with 41pc in favour of it. 

In the Pulse survey, when asked if PTI Chairman Imran Khan will also face disqualification, 55pc people agreed and 45pc disagreed. 

Historically, the constituency has always favoured PML-N candidates. In the 2002 general elections, 47pc voted for PML-N while only 4pc voted for PTI. 

In 2008, PTI had boycotted the general elections. The PML-N took 69pc of the vote from the constituency while the PPP came in second with 25pc of the vote. 

The situation for the PTI improved in 2013, with the party taking 35pc of the vote but still did not manage to dislodge the PML-N, which took 69pc of the votes cast. 

Pulse Consultants describe themselves as being a research partner in strategic decision-making. 

A third survey conducted by IPOR Consulting for PML-N also focused on the NA-120 constituency. This survey spoke to people in the constituency as asked which party they would like to vote for.

A third survey conducted by IPOR Consulting for PML-N also focused on the NA-120 constituency. This survey spoke to people in the constituency as asked which party they would like to vote for.

The majority of respondents also said they would vote for the same party following the Supreme Court’s disqualification of Nawaz Sharif.

The survey by IPOR Consulting was conducted during the period of August 28-September 01, 2017. It consisted of in-person and in-home interviews of people who were over the age of 18. Questions were asked from 2,198 respondents in 220 locations in the NA-120 constituency.