All set for NA-245 Karachi by-election today

KARACHI: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has finalized all arrangements to hold a by-poll in Karachi’s NA-245 constituency today (Sunday).

The polling will begin at 8:00am and conclude at 5:00pm.

According to the ECP, a total of 263 polling stations have been set up for the by-election, of which 60 polling stations have been declared sensitive and 203 most sensitive.

Strict security measures have been adopted for maintaining the law and order situation during the polling.

The constituency comprises Jamshed Quarters, Pakistan Quarters, Martin Quarters, PECHS, Lines Area, Soldier Bazaar, New Town, Patel Para, Garden West, Martin Quarters, Teen Hatti, PIB Colony, etc. As many as 166,869 votes were cast in this constituency.

The by-election was originally scheduled to be held on July 27, however, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) postponed it due to torrential rains in the metropolis.

A total of 17 candidates belonging to different political parties are contesting the by-election from the National Assembly constituency 245. Among them, the most prominent are Farooq Sattar (Indp) PTI’s Mehmood Baqi Moulvi, MQM’s Moid Anwar and PSP’s Syed Hafeezuddin.

Three-way contest

The NA-245 by-poll is expected to be a three-way contest between Farooq Sattar, PTI’s Mahmood Maulvi and MQM-Pakistan’s Moeed Anwar.

The MQM-Pakistan candidate enjoys the support of its allies in the coalition government in the center. In the 2018 General Election, Aamir Liaquat Hussain defeated Dr. Farooq Sattar by securing 56,673 votes.