News
Monday, May 20, 2013
PTI leads NA-250 re-pollKARACHI: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidate Arif Alvi won from NA-250 Karachi on Sunday after re-polling at 43 polling stations of the constituency.
According to unofficial results, Alvi has won the seat. He secured 17,489 votes against 446 of Jamaat-e-Islami candidate Naimat Khan. Similarly, on the PS-112 and 113 the PTI’s candidates were ahead of other candidates. Results from 33 polling stations for PS-113 showed PTI candidate bagged 11,782 votes against PML-N’s 3490. According to results from 10 polling stations in PS-112, the PTI candidate was leading with 3685 votes. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had postponed elections at 43 polling stations of the NA-250, PS-112 and PS-113 constituencies. The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) boycotted the re-polling in protest.
The MQM had announced its boycott of the re-polling on Friday after its demand for re-polling in the entire NA-250 constituency was rejected. On the other hand, PPP’s local leader Najmi Alam told a news conference on Saturday that the party was boycotting the re-polling because the ECP was not willing “to listen to us”. The PPP’s decision to boycott the re-polling came hours after PPP’s Sindh General Secretary Taj Haider, in a statement, urged party workers and supporters to fully participate in the election process.
Under tight security, officials held a repeat election in a the constituency, despite the killing of a senior politician of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf in the city the day before. Troops, police and Rangers backed up by armoured personnel carriers guarded the 43 polling stations in the NA-250 constituency, following claims of ballot-stuffing there during the May 11 general election.
An election official said turnout was initially assessed at more than 40 percent despite scorching weather and the gunning-down late Saturday of an official from the PTI. Zohra Hussain, 59, vice president of the party’s women’s wing in Sindh, was targeted by three men on a motorcycle outside her home in an upmarket part of Karachi. Her death was the latest following an bloody election campaign marked by more than 150 killings. PTI chief Imran Khan blamed the MQM and specifically its boss Altaf Hussain. “I hold Altaf Hussain directly responsible for the murder as he had openly threatened PTI workers and leaders through public broadcasts,” Imran said on his Twitter feed, describing the killing as “a targeted act of terror”. agenices
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk