The counting of votes Sunday evening continued after a by-election contest in NA-148 Multan where PPP’s Ali Qasim Gilani is leading against the PTI-backed Barrister Taimoor Altaf Malik, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
According to the unofficial results of 250 polling stations out of a total of 275, PPP’s Ali Qasim Gilani is leading with 78,278 votes while PTI-backed Taimoor Altaf remained second with 47,793 votes. The voting that started at 8:00 am continued till 5 pm without any break. Due to the heatwave, overall turnout of the voters remained low.
PPP’s Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani, who had defeated the same PTI-backed candidate in the general elections, vacated the seat after he was elected as the Senate chairman. Others vying for the National Assembly seat are Jamaat-e-Islami’s (JI) Engineer Atif Imran and TLP’s Azhar Sindela.
Of a total of 444231 voters in the constituency, 233624 are males and 210607 females, while the number of polling stations stands at 275; 72 for men and an equal number for women. In all, 933 polling booths have been set up. On the other hand, strict security arrangements have been put in place as the law-enforcement agencies’ personnel are on high alert to ensure that the polling remains peaceful.
Earlier, talking to the media, PTI-backed candidate Barrister Taimoor hoped that this time there would be no rigging. “Truth will triumph today, and the people will today avenge the rigging done in the February 8 elections,” he said.
He said he would accept the result if there was no difference between Form 45 and Form 47.
Taimoor said he was not in favour of dynastic politics. “New people should join politics,” he said, adding, “If I win today, I will focus on resolving the issues of the people of my constituency. I will also work to ensure that headway is made on the creation of South Punjab.”
Reporter: Junaid Anwar