By-elections a referendum for 'Haqiqi Azadi' from cabal of crooks: Imran

We are contesting against all of PDM and the Election Commission: Imran Khan

ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan on Sunday urged the public to come out and vote in the constituencies where by-elections are being held.

The former PM in his latest tweet termed the by-elections on eight national assembly and three Punjab assembly seat as referendum for ‘Haqiqi Azadi’ from the cabal of crooks.

We are contesting against all of PDM and the Election Commission, Imran Khan added.

Earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday urged people to exercise their right to vote during by-election that are being held in eight National Assembly and three Punjab Assembly seats.

PM Shehbaz, in a tweet, said that this is a legal and constitutional process and only masses have the right to elect their representatives.

The premier asked the voters to decide wisely about who they are voting for as the "development and welfare of your country depends on it".

It merits mention that polling for by-elections on eight National Assembly and three Punjab Assembly seats is underway and will continue till 5:00pm without any interval.

The NA seats were vacated after speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf had, on July 28, accepted the resignations of PTI MNAs — nine on general seats and two on reserved seats for women.

According to the spokesperson of the Election Commission of Pakistan, over 100 candidates belonging to different political parties and independents are contesting the by-polls while there are a total of 2,460,000 male and 2,028,000 female voters in these eleven constituencies.

The ECP has established 2,937 polling stations in these constituencies, of which 747 are highly sensitive while 694 have been declared sensitive.

Police, Rangers and Pakistan Army personnel have been deployed for security of the voters. A central control room has also been set up in the Election Commission Secretariat to monitor the by-elections and the Chief Election Commissioner is monitoring the entire election process.

In Punjab, three seats of the National Assembly and three of the provincial assembly are up for grabs. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, by-polls will be held on three NA seats and in Sindh, where contestants will compete for two seats of the lower house of parliament.

A tough contest is expected as in NA-108, Abid Sher Ali and in NA-118, Shezra Mansab Ali of PML-N are contesting against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan.

For Multan NA-157, Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s daughter Meharbano Qureshi is contesting on PTI’s ticket while PPP’s Ali Musa Gilani is facing her. The constituency has 462,000 voters.

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s NA-22, Imran Khan is up against JUI-F’s Mohammad Qasim. In NA-24, the PTI chief is facing ANP’s provincial chief Aimal Wali Khan.

A tough contest is also expected in NA-31 between Imran Khan and ANP leader’s Haji Ghulam Ahmad Bilour.