Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif congratulated PML-N candidates on Monday for their overwhelming win in yesterday’s by-polls, which were held amid an election boycott by the opposition PTI in all constituencies except for two, low voter turnout and allegations of rigging.
According to provisional results, the PML-N won all six National Assembly (NA) seats and six of seven Punjab Assembly seats up for grab. One provincial seat was won by the PPP.
Most of these seats were vacated following the disqualification of PTI members due to their convictions in May 9 cases.
In separate but similar statements, PM Shehbaz congratulated the PML-N candidates for their victories in PP-98, PP-116 and PP-115 (Faisalabad), NA-185 (Dera Ghazi Khan), PP-87 (Mianwali), NA-104 and NA-96 (Faisalabad), NA-18 (Haripur) and PP-73 (Sargodha).
The statements issued by the PM’s Office said the premier congratulated the candidates for their “brilliant success”.
The statements quoted him as saying that the PML-N’s success in the by-polls was a result of party supremo Nawaz Sharif’s vision and “exemplary leadership”, as well as the hard work of party workers.
“The success in the by-elections reflects public trust in Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s hard work for the progress of people of the province,” he said, adding that the public had expressed confidence in the PML-N during the by-polls.
“The success in elections is a reflection of the public confidence in the government’s performance,” he reiterated.
Separately, he mentioned the PML-N’s win in NA-143 (Sahiwal), PP-203 (Sahiwal) and NA-129 (Lahore), saying that the people expressed confidence in the “PML-N’s objectives of development, stability, and public welfare” during the by-elections.
Here, too, he credited Nawaz’s leadership and Maryam’s hard work for these wins.
By-election results
According to provisional results released late on Sunday, PML-N candidates had emerged victorious in NA-185 (Dera Ghazi Khan), NA-129 (Lahore), NA-143 (Sahiwal), NA-104 (Faisalabad), PP-203 (Sahiwal), PP-87 (Mianwali), PP-115 (Faisalabad), PP-116 (Faisalabad) and PP-73 (Sargodha).
On Monday morning, the provisional results for NA-18 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Haripur were also issued, according to which PML-N’s Babar Nawaz Khan secured victory with 163,996 votes.
The Form-47 for the constituency — the provisional consolidated statement of results of vote count of all polling stations prepared by the returning officer concerned — showed that PTI-backed independent candidate Shehrnaz Omar Ayub was the first runner-up with 120,220 votes.
Shehrnaz is the wife of PTI’s Omar Ayub. The seat had fallen vacant following Ayub’s disqualification.
Similarly, the Form-47 for Faisalabad’s PP-98 showed that PML-N’s Azad Ali Tabassum had secured victory, bagging 44,388 and beating independent candidate Muhammad Ajmal by a margin of 9,142 votes.
The provisional results for NA-96 (Faisalabad) showed PML-N’s Bilal Badar Chaudhry, the brother of Minister of State for Interior Tallal Chaudhry, won the race with 93,009 votes. He was competing against 15 aspirants, among whom independent candidate Nawab Sher bagged 43,025 votes to come out as the first runner-up.
The PPP also managed to secure victory on one provincial seat: PP-269 (Muzaffargarh), where the ruling party had not fielded any candidate against PPP’s Alamdar Qureshi.
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