Pakistan's biggest ever by-polls for 41 national and provincial assembly constituencies ended on Thursday with many women unable to vote in the elections in which the ruling PML-N appeared to have consolidated its position. As per unofficial results, PML-N clinched 5 National Assembly seats, with PPP, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) winning two seats each.
The unofficial results showed that while Pakistan People's Party gained, cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's performance lacked luster. Awami National Party (ANP) and Pakhtunkhwa Mili Awami Party (PKMAP) secured one National Assembly seat each. ANP's Ghulam Ahmed Bilour and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's Asad Umer won National Assembly seats from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Islamabad respectively, Geo News reported.
PML-N is also leading with 14 provincial assembly seats, including 11 in the Punjab Assembly and two in Balochistan Assembly. PPP has so far bagged 3 provincial assembly slots, two in the Punjab Assembly and one in the Sindh Assembly. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has secured two Punjab Assembly seats and MQM had won two seats in the Sindh Assembly. The ANP won a single seat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, according to the unofficial results.
In all, 522 candidates were contesting for 15 National Assembly and 26 Provincial Assembly constituencies. The Election Commission had set up 7,606 polling stations across the country with about 1,800 sensitive and over 1,500 highly sensitive polling stations, where personnel of armed forces were deployed. There were around 8.5 million registered voters in these constituencies.
However, according to media reports, women voters were stopped from exercising their franchise in the by-election in different constituencies of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The by-elections were taking place as many seats had been vacated by the winners of more than one seat in the May 11 polls, while others had fallen vacant because of disqualification of candidates by superior courts.
Elections in some constituencies were not held on May 11 due to death of the candidates. There were 201 candidates contesting for National Assembly constituencies across the country. There were 180 candidates contesting the 15 Punjab Assembly constituencies, 82 candidates for four Sindh Assembly constituencies, 27 candidates for four Khyber Pakhtunkhwa seats and 32 candidates for the four constituencies of the Balochistan Assembly.
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