Bilawal says ECP has hard questions to answer over PP-78 by-election

JHANG: Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto on Friday said Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has hard questions to answer over by-election in constituency PP-78.

He said PPP workers and leaders risked their lives to fight PP-78 by-election. He called Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan an inferior minister and said it was time that he goes home.

Independent candidate Masroor Nawaz Jhangvi secured more than 48,000 votes to win the PP-78 by-election against PPP (over 33,000 votes) and Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) (over 35,000 votes) candidates.

According to details, 25 candidates including a transgender contested the by-election from the constituency. Azad Nasir Ansari contested as a candidate of PML-N and Sarfaraz Rabbani as of PPP’s. Sheikh Irfah Majeed of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Naseem Qadri of Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) also contested for this seat.

According to ECP the provincial constituency has 2,06,562 registered voters, which include 1,08,627 males and 97,935 females.

The election commission arranged 171 polling stations for the by-election and all of them were declared sensitive. Contingents of Pakistan Army and Rangers were deployed in the constituency to ensure security.

The assembly seat fell vacant after Supreme Court of Pakistan had disqualified PML-N MNA Rashida Yaqoob Sheikh.