Daily Times

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhary has urged the opposition parties to consider the government’s proposals for electoral reforms. In a tweet on Friday, the information minister said that Thursday’s by-election in NA-249, Karachi, has further necessitated the need for reforms in the electoral system. He urged the opposition parties to consider Prime Minister Imran Khan’s proposals for electoral reforms. He said the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) made the whole system hostage for the sake of one seat. He said the voter turnout showed that the people are losing confidence in the election process. The PPP secured victory in the NA-249 by-election held on Thursday in the city’s District West, with unofficial, provisional results showing a close contest between the PML-N and PPP in the final count. PPP’s Abdul Qadir Mandokhel bagged 16,156 votes to win the seat, followed by PML-N’s Miftah Ismail who secured 15,473, unofficial results from polling stations showed. Both parties had claimed victory for their candidates mid-way into counting, capturing the attention of audiences awaiting results.