Tag: by polls

  • MPA who never won a general election, has never lost a by-election in entire career

    MPA who never won a general election, has never lost a by-election in entire career

    In the recent by-elections, one politician made a unique record as he won the by-poll for the third time on April 21. However, he is the only lawmaker who has never won a general election in his entire life.

    Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) leader Shoaib Siddiqui has become the only politician who won the by-polls for the third time, and he contested three general elections but unfortunately lost them all for his provincial seat.

    Siddiqui has contested every election in the same constituency but on the ticket of a different political party every time. This time, he contested the by-election on the ticket of IPP from PP-149 Lahore. In the February 8 election, IPP head Aleem Khan won the election on provincial seat from PP-149.

    The present PP 149 comprises areas like Garhi Shahu, Empress Road, Basti Syden Shah, some sides touching Dharampura, and parts of the city that pertain to the Walton Board. Earlier, Shoaib Siddiqui won the by-election in 2004 and 2015.

  • PM Shehbaz congratulates newly elected lawmakers in by-polls

    PM Shehbaz congratulates newly elected lawmakers in by-polls

    Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif congratulated newly elected members of the national and provincial assemblies for winning the by-polls on Sunday.

    He said that the victory of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidates in by-polls is a sign of people’s trust on the party. “We sincerely thank people who voted for the Muslim League-N in the by-election.”. The PM also assured Pakistanis that his party will do every possible things to server them.

    He observed that along with clear signs of economic progress, people were starting to notice a shift in public opinion. The victories of PML-N candidates were seen as the public recognizing the government’s efforts in fixing the economy, lowering inflation, and enhancing foreign relations. He hoped that as the economy continued to improve and public satisfaction grew, people’s opinions would keep changing positively.

    He also said international financial institutions, news agencies, and surveys covering economic improvement have a positive impact on public opinion.

    The PM said that the non-political behaviour of the opposition after the February 8 elections had also left its supporters confused and disappointed.

  • PML-N claims win on most seats in by-polls

    PML-N claims win on most seats in by-polls

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) workers and supporters celebrated on Sunday as they won most of the seats in the April 21 by-elections as per the unofficial results so far.

    PML-N claimed that, according to unofficial results, the party has won two seats out of the five National Assembly seats, and 10 provincial assembly seats out of 16.

    Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-backed Sunni Ittehad Council, Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP), and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid have won one seat each in the provincial assemblies. 

    Adnan Afzal Chattha from PML-N won the PP-36 Wazirabad seat against Fayyaz Chattha from PTI.

  • Government approves deployment of Army during by-elections

    On Saturday, the federal government approved the deployment of Army and civil armed forces to maintain the law and order situation during by-polls set to take place in multiple districts tomorrow.

    Pakistan Army and Civil Armed Forces troops will perform duties as a rapid response force, Geo reported on Saturday.

  • By-polls: Punjab requests suspension of mobile internet on polling day

    By-polls: Punjab requests suspension of mobile internet on polling day

    Punjab has requested the interior ministry on Saturday to shut down mobile networks and internet services in 13 districts and tehsils of the province on April 21, citing security concerns.

    The request has been made to maintain law and order in the province and avoid any untoward incidents.

    The provincial home department wrote a letter to the interior ministry for the suspension of internet on April 21 as multiple districts and constituencies are set to witness the conduct of by-polls after more than two months of February 8 general polls.

  • Will be happiest to leave govt as soon as elections are held, says CM Mohsin Naqvi

    Will be happiest to leave govt as soon as elections are held, says CM Mohsin Naqvi

    Caretaker Chief Minister (CM) of Punjab, Mohsin Naqvi, has said that he doesn’t wish to prolong his tenure as head of government in the province.

    Talking to journalists, he said that he would be happiest to leave the government as soon as the elections are held. He clarified that the election date is the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) job, and his government is ready to conduct free and fair elections in the province.

    About the ever-growing danger of terrorism in Punjab, the caretaker CM said the government is boosting the capabilities of the already efficient Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) in the province.

    It is pertinent to mention Mohsin has been under fire lately by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for what they allege is a failure to set a date for by-polls in Punjab.

  • Khan will not contest in upcoming National Assembly by-polls

    Khan will not contest in upcoming National Assembly by-polls

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has decided not to contest on National Assembly (NA) vacant seats, multiple media outlets have reported.

    According to Geo News, former Members of the National Assembly (MNAs) of the PTI will participate in the upcoming national assembly by-elections. Khan has reportedly directed them to submit their nomination papers and start election campaigns in their constituencies.

    A day earlier, Khan also withdrew his nomination papers from National Assembly Constituency NA-193.

    It is pertinent to mention that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) announced that by-elections for 33 vacant seats will be held on March 16.

    PTI leaders had announced that their party chief will contest on 33 seats out of 35 seats, leaving aside the two women’s reserved seats.

    On Thursday, it was reported that Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) will also participate in the upcoming by-polls with the party completing the process of finalising its candidates.

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  • ECP to notify Khan’s win on 7 NA seats

    ECP to notify Khan’s win on 7 NA seats

    The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday decided to confirm Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chief Imran Khan’s victory in seven constituencies of the National Assembly (NA) in by-elections held on October 16, 2022.

    A three-member bench of the Election Commission, headed by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikander Sultan Raja, announced the verdict which had been reserved in December.

    The ECP had taken notice of the PTI chief’s failure to submit details of election expenses within the stipulated time.

    In its verdict announced today, the electoral body said that it ignored the delay in the submission of the details of the expenses and directed officials to notify Khan as the winning candidate, accepting the PTI plea.

    According to election laws, “Every returned candidate shall, within five days from the date of the election, submit return of election expenses in accordance with the provision of section 29.”

    “On receipt of the returns of the election under sub-section (3) of section 24, the Commission shall publish in the official Gazette the names of the returned candidates: Provided that the name of a candidate shall not be published who fails to submit the return of election expenses as required by sub-section (3) of section 24.”

    The by-polls were conducted on nine NA seats that fell vacant after the National Assembly speaker accepted the resignations of PTI MNAs, who had tendered resignations en masse as per party policy.

    According to the by-election results, Khan won the NA seats from Mardan, Charsadda and Peshawar in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Faisalabad and Nankana Sahib in Punjab and the Korangi district of Karachi in Sindh.

  • ‘Na Imran Khan ka admi hona chahiye na kisi aur ka’: Imran Khan about Army chief appointment

    ‘Na Imran Khan ka admi hona chahiye na kisi aur ka’: Imran Khan about Army chief appointment

    In a press conference on Monday, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan said that the appointment of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) should be on merit.

    He stated: “Na Imran Khan ka admi hona chahiye na kisi aur ka” (COAS should neither be my man nor someone else’s.)

    He was of the view that high-profile appointments like the COAS should not be made by “criminals like Nawaz or Zardari”.

    Moreover, he claimed that his party has been “sidelined” many times despite him trying his best not to cause any harm to institutions.

    Taking a jibe at Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif, Khan said that Nawaz is scared of elections because he fears defeat.

    Imran said Nawaz is waiting for the PTI’s wave of support to diminish before elections could be held.

    Khan gives time to the government

    Khan said that he is giving some more time to the government to announce a date for elections or else he will announce the long march date, adding that preparations for the march have been completed.

    “I am giving them [government] time just for the sake of the country,” he said. “I repeat that they still have time to announce elections, and if they don’t, I will begin my march, and my preparations are almost complete.”

    He said dialogue is out of the question with the ruling elite. “There’s no negotiation with criminals. You can hold reconciliation talks with Baloch or Sindhi nationalists, but not with felons like them,” Khan added.

    Rigging in NA-237

    Imran demanded the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to hold re-election in Karachi’s NA-237 constituency which he lost on Sunday to Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)candidate. He claimed that the PPP clinched the seat in the by-poll on through “rigging”.

    He said that the government did not wish to hold elections and used floods as an excuse. “They said that there were floods. But in the constituencies where elections were held, floods did not have an effect.”

    “Sindh’s election commissioner was on the provincial government’s payroll. We reject [Malir’s] by-election and demand re-election. The PPP swung the polls to their advantage through indiscriminate rigging,” Khan alleged.

  • ‘Can talk to TTP, not with thieves’: Imran Khan rules out possibility of talks with the govt

    ‘Can talk to TTP, not with thieves’: Imran Khan rules out possibility of talks with the govt

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan addressed his supporters on Wednesday, a day after the Supreme Court verdict declared Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi as the new chief minister of Punjab. He demanded immediate elections that should be free and fair. Khan ruled out any possibility of holding talks with the coalition government.

    ‘Can talk to the TTP and separatists but not with thieves’

    “I can talk to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the separatists of Balochistan and Sindh, but not with thieves,” said Khan while ruling out the possibility of holding talks with the coalition government.

    “Will you speak to someone who robs your home?” 

    ‘A new Election Commission should be formed’

    Once again, Khan expressed his complete lack of trust in the incumbent Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikander Sultan Raja. Khan accused the ECP of supporting former CM Punjab Hamza Shehbaz.

    “The Election Commission was involved and tried to defeat us in the by-polls.”

    Terming his party’s win in the Punjab by-elections a “miracle”, he said that despite the government’s attempts, his party managed to win because of the people.

    “First of all, Hamza was illegally imposed on us, and even when he was ordered by the top court to refrain from using any state machinery and administration for personal gains, he used all of the aforementioned to rig the elections.”

    He demanded that a new Election Commission should be formed.

    “Such an Election Commission should be formed that no political party should have an issue with it.”

    ‘Yeh jo bikay hain hamaray log, yeh bhi aik shirk hai’

    Khan said that those who defected from his party committed shirk.

    “Jab yeh apni naukri ko bachanay ke liye ghalat kaam kartay hain, gunnah kartay hain, yeh bhi aik shirk hai. Aap apnay zameer ko bechtay hain, laalach de kar jo aap ko khareedta hai, yeh jo bikay hain hamaray log bhairr baqriyon ki tarah, yeh bhi aik shirq hai kyun ke Allah Al-Haqq hai.”

    (Those who do wrong things to save their jobs commit sin, it is shirk [idolatry]. Those who sell their self-respect and themselves, it is also counted as shirk because Allah is Al-Haqq).

    Azadi March and Haqeeqi Azadi

    Khan recalled that when his party announced its “Azadi March” on May 25, the coalition government attacked the women, children, and families who came out to support PTI.

    “They tried to silence us.”

    “Today, I want to thank the Almighty that despite all the impediments, people came out to show support rather than staying at home out of fear,” adding that he is glad that the people of Pakistan have started becoming a nation now.

    ‘Free and fair elections should be held immediately‘

    Khan stressed that there is only one way forward and that is through immediately holding free and fair elections.