PTI trounces 13-party alliance in Karachi’s NA-245 by-poll

KARACHI: The ally parties of the ruling coalition have dealt a major blow after Pakistan Tehreek-e- Insaf (PTI) emerged victorious in the NA-245 Karachi by-election with a huge margin on Sunday.

As per the unconfirmed and unofficial results of all 263 polling stations, PTI candidate Mahmood Maulvi bagged 29,475 votes against MQM-Pakistan’s (MQM-P) Moid Anwar, who managed to secure 13,193 votes.

TLP’s Muhammed Ahmed Raza stood 3rd with 9,836 votes while Farooq Sattar, who contested as an independent candidate, secured only 3,479 votes. MQM-H candidate Muhammad Shahid remained last with 1,117 votes.

Final Result of NA 245 Karachi East 4 Bye Election 21 August 2022.#ECP#ElectionCommissionofPakistan pic.twitter.com/9z6ZzIDPU4

— Haroon Shinwari, Spokesperson ECP (@HaroonS2021) August 21, 2022

The NA-245 seat fell vacant after the death of Dr. Aamir Liaquat Hussian in June this year. In the 2018 General Election, Liaquat defeated Dr. Farooq Sattar by securing 56,673 votes.

Polling began at 8am and continued uninterrupted till 5pm in the constituency. After 5pm, only those voters who were inside the polling stations were allowed to cast their votes.

A total of 17 candidates contested the by-election from the National Assembly constituency 245. 263 polling stations had been set up for the by-election, of which 60 polling stations were declared sensitive and 203 most sensitive.

Strict security measures had been put in place for maintaining the law and order situation during the polling in Karachi’s NA-245.

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 former prime minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan on Sunday urged voters to immediately go to polling stations in NA-245 to cast their votes amid reports of low turnout in the constituency.

We are on our way to winning Karachi NA 245 election. Our camps are full of voters while opposition camps are empty. I am asking all our voters to go immediately to vote if they haven’t already done so.

— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) August 21, 2022

Taking to Twitter, Khan said that they are on their way to winning Karachi NA-245 by-election. “Our camps are full of voters while opposition camps are empty,” he said. “I am asking all our voters to go immediately to vote if they haven’t already done so,” Imran Khan added.

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.