Karachi
April 29, 2021
Karachi is all set to host the much-awaited by-election for the NA-249 (West-II) constituency, which encompasses Baldia Town, on Thursday (today). Candidates representing Pakistan’s major political parties are expected to give one another a good run for their money in what essentially seems to be nothing less than a showdown.
The crucial National Assembly seat had fallen vacant after the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Faisal Vawda resigned following the casting of his vote in the Senate elections in March.
2018 elections
The 2018 general elections had seen a close contest in NA-249, with Vawda securing 35,344 votes to defeat the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) candidate and former Punjab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif, who had polled 34,626 votes.
Karachi
April 21, 2021
The Pakistan Peoples Party and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz have expressed opposing views on whether the April 29 by-poll in the NA-249 constituency should be postponed.
In a letter to the Election Commission of Pakistan, the Sindh government has requested postponement of the NA-249 by-election until the third wave of the coronavirus pandemic subsides. The government has said most of the cities in Pakistan are reporting a high ratio of positive cases and fatalities due to the virus.
“The [Covid-19 infection] cases in Karachi and Hyderabad have started rising. The daily situation reports of last week show a remarkable increase in positivity percentage rising from three per cent to three per cent,” says the letter. “The electoral campaign, gatherings, corner meetings and processions will definitely aggravate the situation.”
PTI, PML-N or TLP: Who can win Karachi’s NA-249?
By
Friday Apr 02, 2021
NA-249 is an important constituency. Situated in the most populous city of Pakistan, Karachi, it has to date over 300,000 registered voters. Photo: Geo.tv/ file
For now, it would be premature to predict with certainty who will win the by-elections in NA-249 (Karachi West-2), a crucial Baldia Town seat which fell vacant after Prime Minister Imran Khan rescued his blue-eyed politician Faisal Vawda and helped him succeed in the Senate.
At the moment, Vawda is under probe for holding a dual nationality at the time of the 2018 national polls. The fear in the ruling party was that he could be disqualified from the lower house if the case was decided against him, which is why he is now a Senator.