LAHORE: The counting of votes is underway after polling ended for the by-elections in 20 constituencies of Punjab. The polling began at 8am and continued till 5pm but in several districts polling was stopped due to clashes.
It is pertinent to mention that the 20 seats fell vacant after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) “de-seated” 25 PTI dissident lawmakers on May 23 for voting against PML-N’s Hamza Shahbaz in the Punjab chief minister’s election. Which included five lawmakers elected on reserved seats for women and minorities.
By-elections were held in 20 constituencies of Punjab Assembly including PP-7 Rawalpindi, PP-83 Khushab, PP-90 Bhakkar, PP-97 Faisalabad; PP-125, PP-127 Jhang, PP-140 Sheikhupura,PP-158, 167,168,170 Lahore;PP-167, Lahore, PP-202 Sahiwa,; PP-217 Multan, PP-224 Lodhran, PP-228 Lodhran, PP-237 Bahawalnagar, PP-272,273 Muzaffargarh,PP-282 Layyah and PP-288 Dera Ghazi Khan.
A total of 4.57 million registered voters, including 2.46 million women, were eligible to cast ballot in the by-polls. As many as 3140 polling stations, including 731 male, 700 female and 1700 combined polling stations had been established across the 20 constituencies.
A total of 9,562 polling booths had been set up for the by-polls. The ECP had declared 1204 polling stations sensitive and 696 highly sensitive.
Polling stations from Lahore and Multan had also been declared sensitive. Provincial Election Commissioner Saeed Gul had said that the Election Commission was completely neutral and there was no truth in the allegations, they were working according to the Constitution and the law.
Punjab Assembly number game
The Punjab Assembly has a total of 371 members, of which 20 seats are vacant at the moment, bringing the total number of MPAs in the Punjab Assembly down to 351.
The PML-N has 163 members. On the other side is the Opposition, therefore the PTI, which is 163 MPAs strong at the moment.
In the house, there are five independents, of which Chaudhry Nisar, the former interior minister, is unlikely to vote. While the PPP has 7 MPAs, PML-Q has 10, and the Rah-e-Haq party has one.
As per the rules of the Punjab Assembly, the chief minister is elected with a simple majority, therefore 186 votes out of the 371-seat assembly.
Read more: Whole country looking at Punjab as make-or-break by-polls taking place today+
