Summary PML-N’s Ali Arif Chaudhry, independent Riazul Haq and PTI’s Ashraf Sohna are leading candidates
OKARA (Dunya News) – Independent candidate Riaz ul Haq has won election in Okara-II in NA-144 on Sunday. Riaz ul Haq secured 83,240 votes and on second place came Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz s (PML-N) candidate Ali Arif Chaudhary with 41,050 votes. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf s (PTI) Ashraf Sohna took 7049 votes and came last.
Riazul Haq was supposed to contest on PML-N’s ticket however, he chose to register himself as an independent candidate after Ali Arif was given the ticket instead. PTI s Ashraf Sohna s security deposits have been confiscated by Election Commission due to the low number of votes he garnered in.
In NA-144, PML-N’s Ali Arif Chaudhry, independent candidate Riazul Haq and PTI’s Ashraf Sohna were contesting the by-poll. Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) Sajjadul Hassan also contesting the by-election.
Police baton charged locals on Sunday after situation went out of control as voters protested against irregularities and police.
NA-144 Election Table
| Candidate | Party | No. of votes |
| Riaz ul Haq | INDEPENDENT | 83,240 |
| Ali Arif Chaudhary |  PML-N |
41,050 |
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2010 hours:
Riaz ul Haq has won the elections on Okara-II by taking 83240 votes.
2121 hours:
Riaz ul Haq has 31681 votes, Ali Arif Chaudhary has 13953. Up to 34% votes have been counted.
2050 hours:
Riaz ul Haq (28407 votes) has now attained more than double the votes of the second placed Ali Arif Chaudhary(12037 votes).
2022 hours:
Just in: Riaz ul Haq crosses 20 thousand
votes! He is at 26012 while Ali Arif Chaudhary falls way behind at 11262 votes.
2000 hours:
Vote count has ended for 37 polling stations. Riaz ul Haq has climbed to 15481 votes while Ali Arif Chaudhary is at 9321 votes.
1939 hours:
Riaz ul Haq s lead has extended to nearly 4000 as he gets 13312 votes. Ali Arif Chaudhary on 9301 votes right now.
1920 hours:
20 polling stations have finished their counts so far in Okara.
1838 hours:
Independent candidate Riaz ul Haq has a slim lead of 11 votes as he gains 9265 as opposed to 2nd placed Ali Arif Chaudhary who gets 9257.
1827 hours:
Riaz ul Haq: 9265 votes
Ali Arif Chaudhary: 8480 votes
1805 hours:
Voting ended in 17 polling stations in Okara. Ali Arif leads the proceedings.
1755 hours:
Riaz ul Haq is ahead with 8480 votes. On close-second position is Ali Arif Chaudhary with 8315 votes.
1733 hours:
1721 hours:
Ali Arif Chaudhary at 5747 votes Riaz ul Haq second with 4138.
1719 hours:
Ali Arif Chaudhary gains 3916 while Riaz ul Haq at 2499 votes.
1715 hours: Independent candidate Riaz ul Haq stands second with 2499 votes while PML-N s Ali Arif Chaudhary is in first place with 3916 votes.
1712 hours:
1709 hours: As per count of 6 pollling stations Ch Arif is ahead with 2148 votes.
1704 hours: Independent candidate Riaz ul Haq grabs 217 votes while N-League s Ali Arif Chaudhary stands first with 467 votes.
1700 hours: Polling time has finished at NA-144. Vote count is underway.
Polling staffers were seen using mobile phones in the polling stations. It should be remembered that usage of communication devices during polling process in against the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) rules.
The police resorted to baton-charge to control the voters in polling stations 29 and 30 of NA-144 constituency. However, women turnout for the by-poll is reported higher than usual. Polling process was halted for sometime due to the disturbance but was resumed soon after the ruckus rested.
Separately, independent candidate Riazul Haq allegedly gave qingi rickshaw drivers Rs 1,500 each and free petrol to fetch voters from their homes.
Early in the morning, voters and the staff exchanged hot words as there were no voter lists to start the polling in station 85.
In NA-144, PML-N’s Ali Arif Chaudhry, independent candidate Riazul Haq and PTI’s Ashraf Sohna are contesting the by-poll. Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) Sajjadul Hassan is also a potential candidate of the by-election.
Riazul Haq was supposed to contest on PML-N’s ticket however, he chose to register himself as an independent candidate after Ali Arif was given the ticket instead.
As many as 25 polling stations have been declared sensitive out of the 210 total in the consitutency. At least four army soldiers have been deployed in each polling station while CCTV cameras have also been installed.
