GDA's Moazzam Ali Abbasi knocks out PPP in its stronghold

LARKANA: The joint candidate of GDA and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Moazzam Ali Khan Abbasi, won the PS-11 Larkana-II by-election, ARY News reported on Thursday.

According to unofficial results, the joint candidate of GDA and PTI, Moazzam Ali Khan Abbasi, got 31,557 votes, whereas PPP’s candidate Jameel Ahmed Soomro secured 26,021 votes.

The Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) candidate had the support from Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F).

Talking to ARY News, the GDA leader Nusrat Sehat Abbasi congratulated party workers over a comfortable win against the PPP candidate.

“People of Larkana have taken revenge from PPP for not providing them food, education and clean drinking water,” she added.

Federal Minister for Water Resources and PTI leader Faisal Vawda said that PPP has lost Larkana by-election despite using state machinery.

PTI leader Ali Zaidi took to twitter saying, “Democracy is the best revenge, and today the people of Larkana have taken their revenge.”

Democracy is the best revenge, and today the people of Larkana have taken their revenge. @BBhuttoZardari

— Ali Haider Zaidi (@AliHZaidiPTI) October 17, 2019

The process of polling for the by-election began at 8 am on Thursday and continued until 5 pm.

The ECP had set up 138 polling stations in the constituency of 152,614 registered voters including 83,106 male and 69,598 female voters. 20 out of 138 polling stations were declared highly sensitive, whereas, 50 were declared as sensitive by the election authorities.

More than 4,000 personnel of Pakistan Army, Rangers and police forces performed security duties during the by-election.

The seat fell vacant after the Supreme Court declared the Grand Democratic Alliance’s (GDA) Member of Provincial Assembly (MPA) Moazim Ali Khan Abbasi over failing to declare his assets following a petition filed moved by PPP’s Nida Khuhro.

It is pertinent to mention here that the GDA leader had won the polls in the PS-11 Larkana-II constituency during 2018’s general elections after defeating the daughter of President PPP Sindh PPP Nisar Khuhro, Nida Khuhro, after her father was declared disqualified over the petition of Moazzam Ali Khan Abbasi that challenged his nomination papers.