Voting held on five NA seats in Punjab, one in K-P; Ruling party maintains broad lead; PPP secures one PA seat
Electoral moment: A woman casts her vote in by-election in Faisalabad. Photo: Online
LAHORE:
The ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) held a commanding lead in Sunday’s by-elections, winning most of the contested national and provincial assembly seats in Punjab, according to unofficial and unconfirmed tallies compiled late in the evening.
The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) – a government ally – captured one Punjab Assembly seat, while the opposition, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-backed candidates trailed in the constituencies where they contested.
Polling took place for six National Assembly seats — NA-18 (Haripur), NA-96 and NA-104 (Faisalabad), NA-129 (Lahore), NA-143 (Sahiwal) and NA-185 (Dera Ghazi Khan) — along with seven Punjab Assembly constituencies, with voting was held under tight security.
Most of the seats had fallen vacant after PTI lawmakers were disqualified in cases linked to the May 9, 2023 incidents. One seat fell vacant because of the death of PTI’s Mian Azhar. The PTI had boycotted all contests except NA-129 Lahore and NA-18 Haripur.
In NA-129 Lahore, complete unofficial results showed PML-N’s Hafiz Mian Muhammad Noman winning comfortably with 63,441 votes, defeating PTI-backed independent Chaudhry Arsalan Ahmad, who was polled 29,099.
In NA-96 Faisalabad-II, PML-N’s Muhammad Bilal Badar Chaudhry — brother of Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry — led with 63,957 votes, while independent Nawab Sher followed with 21,067. Counting was still under way when this report was filed.
In NA-104 Faisalabad-X, PML-N’s Daniyal Ahmed, son of former opposition leader Raja Riaz, secured 23,422 votes, ahead of independent Rana Adnan Javed, who received 7,113. Several polling station results were yet to be received at the time of filing.
Complete unofficial results from NA-143 Sahiwal showed PML-N’s Muhammad Tufail Jutt winning decisively with 136,313 votes, defeating independent Zarrar Akbar Chaudhary, who posted 13,120.
In NA-185 Dera Ghazi Khan, complete unofficial results placed PML-N’s Mehmood Qadir Khan Leghari in front with 80,725 votes, ahead of PPP’s Dost Muhammad Khosa, who received 49,149.
In PP-203 Sahiwal, PML-N’s Muhammad Hanif Jutt maintained a strong lead with 46,820 votes against independent Sardar Falak Sher Dogar, who secured 10,975. Results from several stations were still awaited.
In PP-73 Sargodha-III, PML-N’s Mian Sultan Ali Ranjha led with 14,831 votes, while independent Haris Ranjha received 1,700. The tally remained incomplete at the time of filing.
In PP-116 Faisalabad, PML-N’s Rana Ahmed Shaharyar recorded 19,250 votes, ahead of independent Asghar Ali Qaiser, who secured 4,230. Further results were pending.
In PP-269 Muzaffargarh, the PPP registered gain as Mian Alamdar Qureshi secured 42,976 votes, while independent Iqbal Patafi followed with 30,072. Several polling station results had not yet been issued.
Voter turnout varied across regions, with lower early-morning participation in parts of Haripur in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) due to cold weather and scattered reports of slow activity in Faisalabad, where mosque announcements urged residents to vote.
Polling in Lahore’s NA-129 saw allegations from PTI leaders, who accused authorities of blocking their candidate’s access to the returning officer’s office, removing PTI camps, sending voters to incorrect polling stations and detaining workers. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) did not immediately respond.
More than 20,000 Punjab police personnel were deployed, supported by Rangers and army units. Control rooms monitored the situation throughout the day. Punjab IGP Dr Usman Anwar reiterated zero tolerance for violations of Section 144, the ECP code of conduct and the ban on weapons at polling stations.
In NA-18 Haripur — which fell vacant after the disqualification of PTI’s National Assembly opposition leader Omar Ayub Khan in a May 9-related case — his wife, Shehrnaz Omar Ayub, is contesting the by-election.
here, according to the state media, PML-N candidate Babar Nawaz Khan secured a clear lead and is ahead with over 97,000 votes so far. Shehrnaz is second with 68,534 votes, followed by independent candidate Asad Usman with 7,552 votes.
Results from this constituency, along with PP-87 Mianwali-III, PP-98 Faisalabad and PP-115 Faisalabad, had not been issued at the time of filing. The ECP is expected to release consolidated results once formal counting concludes.
