The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has emerged victorious in the by-election for Punjab Assembly constituency PP-289 Dera Ghazi Khan.
PML-N candidate Osama Abdul Karim was elected unopposed as a Member of the Provincial Assembly after all other candidates withdrew from the race. According to the Returning Officer, a total of 11 candidates initially submitted their nomination papers. Nine candidates withdrew on the previous day, while the 10th candidate also took back his nomination papers on the final day, leaving Osama Abdul Karim uncontested.
The seat had fallen vacant after former MPA Mahmood Qadir Leghari was elected to the National Assembly. As per the Election Commission’s schedule, polling in the constituency was earlier expected to be held on January 25.
Separately, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Dr Yasmin Rashid has decided to approach the court against the election tribunal’s decision in NA-130, following consultations with her legal team in jail. According to her counsel Rana Mudassar Umar, Dr Rashid has instructed him to immediately challenge the tribunal’s verdict. He said that an application has already been filed to obtain a certified copy of the decision, and a petition will be submitted in the court as soon as the copy is received.
Rana Mudassar Umar further maintained that the election tribunal failed to properly assess the facts of the case and dismissed Dr Rashid’s election petition citing ‘technical grounds’.
An election tribunal had upheld the Election Commission of Pakistan’s notification declaring Nawaz Sharif the winner in Lahore’s NA-130, dismissing a challenge filed by the PTI leader. The decision ends her bid to overturn Sharif’s victory in the February 2024 general election from the constituency, also known as NA-130 (Lahore-XIV).
The tribunal, headed by Judge Rana Zahid Mahmood, rejected Dr Rashid’s petition on technical grounds. The ruling means the official result notified by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will remain in force. According to the published results of the February 8, 2024 election, the three-time prime minister secured 179,310 votes in NA-130, while Dr Rashid polled 104,485.