Nominees representing major political parties of Pakistan had been involved in hectic electioneering in the run-up to Thursday’s by-poll for NA-249, one of Karachi’s most ethnically.
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.”
Race for NA-249 seat begins
No clear favourite in constituency with 331,000 registered voters
PHOTO: APP/FILE
KARACHI:
Around 30 candidates had collected 68 nomination forms for contesting the by-elections on the NA-249 seat - which was vacated by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Faisal Vawda who resigned from the National Assembly after bagging a Senate seat - as of Sunday.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz s (PML-N s) Miftah Ismail, Pakistan Peoples Party s (PPP s) Nisar Khuhro and Qadir Khan Mandokhel, Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan s (MQM-P s) Yousuf Alam, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf s (PTI s) Laila Parveen and Ashraf Jabbar Qureshi, Pak Sarzameen Party s Syed Mustafa Kamal, Syed Hafeezuddin and Humayun Usman, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl s Rashid Mehmood Soomro, three Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) candidates and Sunni Tehreek s Bilal Qadri are among those who have collected the nomination papers.
ANP, PSP to take part in NA-249 by-polls thenews.com.pk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thenews.com.pk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.