NA-249 Karachi by-polls: ECP declares PPP’s Qadir Mandokhel winner

Election Commission of Pakistan ECP has declared PPP’s Qadir Mandokhel winner in NA-249 by-polls.

As per the official results, PPP candidate Qadir Khan Mandokhel secured 16,156 votes against Miftah Ismail’s 15,473.

The lowest turnout election surprisingly, the now proscribed Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) stood third as its candidate Allama Nazir Ahmed secured 11,125 votes.

Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) candidate Mustafa Kamal could only bag 9,227 votes.

To the surprise of many, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), which had won the seat in the last general elections, came fifth in the race. He secured only 8,922 votes.

Meanwhile, MQM-P’s Muhammed Mursaleen bagged only 7,511 votes.

The voter turnout in the by-poll remained 21.61 percent in the constituency. 

The total votes cast were 73,471 out of 339,591 votes registered in the area.

Meanwhile, the losing political parties cry foul as PPP clinches victory in an unexpected turn of events.

Major political parties, including the PTI and the PML-N, have rejected the result of the NA-249 by-election.

PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz has alleged the NA-249 by-election was stolen from the party after unofficial results showed PPP’s Qadir Khan Mandokhail winning the election by a margin of just 683 votes.

Maryam Nawaz has asked the ECP to withhold NA-249 results.

Federal Minister Ali Haider Zaidi has also expressed concerns over the results of NA-249.

Meanwhile, Information Fawad Chaudhry says that the low voter turnout during the NA-249 by-election held a day earlier in Karachi indicates that the public is losing confidence in the electoral process.

In a tweet on Friday Fawad Chaudhry has once again asked the opposition to consider Prime Minister Imran Khan’s suggestions for electoral reform.