LAHORE: Hafiz Abdul Karim, the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate, won the Senate by-election from Punjab on Monday by securing 243 votes, defeating his main rival, Mehr Abdul Sattar, who was backed by the opposition and received 99 votes.
The election was held to fill the Senate seat left vacant after the passing of Professor Sajid Mir, the late chief of Central Jamiat Ahle Hadees Pakistan, who was known for his long-standing role in religious and parliamentary politics.
Out of 368 total votes in the Punjab Assembly, 345 were polled, while 3 votes were rejected due to technical discrepancies. Voting was held from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM at the Punjab Assembly, which had been declared the official polling station. The process remained peaceful and orderly throughout the day.
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz also participated in the voting, casting her ballot for the party’s candidate and later congratulated Hafiz Abdul Karim on his win, calling it a “vote of confidence in the party’s leadership and governance.”
The Punjab Election Commissioner oversaw the process and served as the Returning Officer, ensuring transparency under the supervision of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
Besides the two main candidates, independent contenders Khadija Siddiqi, a human rights lawyer, and Ijaz Hussain, a little-known political activist, were also in the running but failed to gain significant support.
Hafiz Abdul Karim is a senior religious scholar and former federal minister, and his return to the Senate is seen as a strategic win for PML-N in consolidating influence in the upper house of Parliament.