Unofficial results suggest that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) glided through the NA-133 by-election, which was fiercely contested by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), despite the low turnout, while a PTI candidate was knocked out on the technical grounds.
As per the unofficial results of the by-election:
- PML-N’s Shaista Pervaiz Malik bagged 46,811 votes.
- PPP’s Chaudhry Aslam Gill could secure 32,313 ballots.
However, it is also important to note that:
- The voter turnout remained 18.59 percent.
- Only 80,022 used their rights in casting the vote out of a total of 440,845 voters.
- At least 898 votes were rejected.
There were nine other contenders in the competition, all of whom were independent or from lesser-known political parties, while the candidate of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf had previously been eliminated on technical grounds.
The Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), which came in third place in the 2018 general elections, chose to stay out of the by-elections, citing a lack of preparedness due to its participation in a long march on Islamabad.
In the 2018 general election, Mr. Gill received only 5,500 votes for the same seat that became vacant after the death of PML-N MNA Pervaiz Malik, who had received over 90,000 votes.
The widow of Pervaiz Malik, Shaista Malik, did not personally take part in the elections due to her iddat; However, her son, Ali Pervaiz Malik handled the electioneering.
The Election Commission put up at least 254 voting sites, with 34 designated as sensitive and 21 designated as extremely sensitive. In addition to the Punjab Rangers, election officials had deployed around 2,000 police officers to prepare for any scenario. The polling procedure went on uninterrupted from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Only 2% of the ballots had been cast by noon, indicating a poor turnout for the remainder of the day.
The PPP, in an apparent attempt to resurrect itself in the province, invested a significant amount of political and financial capital in the by-election, in contrast to its past practice, at least in the Punjab capital, which is considered a stronghold of the opposition PML-N.
Despite the health problems faced by former President Asif Ali Zardari, he still decided to stay in Lahore to raise the morale of the activists of the party. Furthermore, he aimed to assist in the election campaign of Mr. Gill, a die-hard jiyala from a lower-middle-class family.
Punjab’s incumbent and previous office-bearers lent their support to the election campaign when and where it was needed. On Sunday, ex-Punjab chapter president Qamar Zaman Kaira manned a polling camp, handing out chits to voters with their vote numbers and polling booth locations.
Given Mr. Gill’s financial limits, local affluent party officials, as well as donors from outside Punjab, contributed generously to match the PML-N electioneering efforts.
This ferocious campaign worked splendidly for the party, as it increased its vote count by a factor of ten, prompting many to wonder if the PPP has resurrected itself in Punjab, particularly in Lahore.
The two main opponents had made charges and counter-allegations of vote-buying, and both had provided ‘proof’ to the election administration in the form of video clips of the illicit behavior.
Shehbaz Sharif, the president of PML-N congratulated party officials on their victory in NA-133. In a statement, he also expressed gratitude to the constituency’s people for placing their faith in the PML-N, promising to meet their expectations on a variety of fronts and issues.
He said, “We bow our heads before Allah in all humility for this election win today. I dedicate this success to our friend & brother, late Pervez Malik who was a thorough gentleman, dedicated public servant & great companion of Nawaz Sharif.”
