Daily Times

PTI on Sunday retained the NA-245 seat of Karachi in the by-poll held after the seat fell vacant following the death of Aamir Liaquat Hussain, who was elected on a PTI ticket in 2018. According to unofficial and preliminary results released by Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) of all 263 polling stations, the PTI secured a resounding victory by a margin of nearly 17,000 votes as its candidate Mehmood Maulvi secured 29,475 votes.

MQM-P’s Mueed Anwar came in second with 13,193 votes followed by TLP’s Muhammad Ahmed Raza who bagged 9,836 while independent candidate Dr Farooq Sattar got 3,479 votes. The voter turnout remained at around 12 per cent. The polling process started at 8am and continued till 5pm (Sunday). However, the polling time was extended by an hour at polling stations 55, 143 and 144.

A total of 263 polling stations were set up by the election commission for the by-election, of which 60 polling stations were declared sensitive and 203 most sensitive. As many as 17 candidates contested the by-polls, including candidates of MQM-Pakistan, Pakistan Tahreek-e-Insaf and Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP).

PTI’s Maulvi, MQM-P’s Mueed, PSP’s Syed Hafeezud Din, TLP’s Muhammad Ahmed Raza and MQM Bahali Committee’s Dr Farooq Sattar, who contested as an independent candidate, were some of the major contenders for the seat. The ECP had appointed Syed Nadeem Haider as the returning officer for NA-245 by-election. In view of the polls, the electoral watchdog had also banned development works and transfers of officials within the limits of the NA-245 constituency.