Summary Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) failed to make major breakthrough in the by-elections
ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) – Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has lost eight by-elections on the National Assembly and provincial assembly seats after it ended a massive anti-government protest outside the Parliament House in December 2014.
Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan led a massive rally (Azadi March) from Lahore to Islamabad and staged sit-in from 14 August 2014 to 17 December 2014, in a bid to force Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to quit over allegedly widespread vote rigging in the country s 2013 elections which brought him to power.
On 17 December 2014, Imran Khan cancelled the protest in response to terrorist attack on Army Public School in Peshawar, stressing that the country needed national unity.
ELECTION TRIBUNAL’S DECISIONS IN PTI’S FAVOUR
The election tribunals ordered re-election on four National Assembly seats including NA-154 of Lodhran, NA-125 Lahore, NA-122 Lahore and NA-246 Karachi after massive irregularities were detected in the polling process in 2013 general election.
The results were challenged by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.
But on the contrary the opposition party failed to make any major breakthrough in the by-elections and the ruling PML-N once again grabbed most of the seats.
BY-ELECTIONS ON MAJOR SEATS
The PTI lost by-elections in NA-137 (Nankana), NA-246 (Karachi), NA-108 (Mandi Bahauddin), NA-19 (Haripur), NA-122 (Lahore), NA-144 (Okara), provincial assembly constituencies PP-196 (Multan) and PP-100 (Gujranwala).
Re-election in NA-137 (Nankana Sahab) took place on March 15 after the winning candidate passed away. PML-N’s Dr Shazra Mansab was elected as MNA after winning the election by securing 77,890 votes whereas the PTI-backed candidate could only grab 39,635 votes.
NA-246 seat was vacated after resignation of Nabeel Gabol and re-election was held on April 24. MQM candidate Kanwar Naveed Jamil remained victorious with 95,644 votes while PTI candidate Imran Ismail was runner-up with 24,821 votes.
After disqualification of Chaudhry Abdul Waheed from the provincial assembly seat (PP-196), by-election was held on May 21 and PML-N candidate Rana Mehmoodul Hassan won by securing 30,278 votes. PTI candidate Rana Abdul Jabbar grabbed 19,321 votes.
Chaudhry Muhammad Ejaz was de-seated from NA-108 after the election tribunal declared the result void. The by-election held on June 8 was won by PML-N’s Mumtaz Ahmed who secured 77,884 votes. PTI candidate lost the election with a margin of more than 30,000 votes.
Gujranwala’s PP-100 seat was vacated after death of PML-N candidate Rana Shamshad Ahmed Khan and re-election was held on July 26. PML-N member Rana Akhtar Ali defeated PTI’s Ehsanullah Virk with a margin of 21,000 votes.
Result of NA-19 constituency of Haripur was declared void by the Supreme Court of Pakistan and the re-election was held on August 16 this year. PML-N candidate Babar Nawaz defeated Raja Amir Zaman of PTI with a huge margin of votes.
PML-N leader and former National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq retained his NA-122 seat on October 11 by defeating Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidate Aleem Khan in the by-election with a margin of 2,443 votes.
In Okara s NA-144, independent candidate Riazul Haq Juj came out victorious, with PML-N s Ali Arif Chaudhry coming in second. PTI s Ashraf Sohna came out fourth in the constituency.
The PTI, however, emerged victorious on Sunday in PP-147 by-election.
PTI candidate Shoaib Siddiqui defeated PML-N candidate Mohsin Latif in PP-147 by securing 31,964 votes. The opposition candidate grabbed 28,402 votes as per unofficial result.
