Rana Qasim Noon of the PML-N won by a huge margin, securing 112,000 votes against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidate Ghulam Abbas Khakhi’s 37,212 votes and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) candidate Malik Akram Kanhu’s 30,124 votes.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, in a statement issued late night yesterday, congratulated Noon on his victory and said the win demonstrated that the people of South Punjab appreciate the PML-N government’s policies.
“The people of South Punjab have given their verdict in favour of our candidate. This election result speaks volumes about our performance and its due recognition by the people of Multan,” he said.
The premier added that voters were the best judges to gauge good work done by any government and today’s massive win by the PML-N candidate reflected the popularity of government’s pro-people policies.
“Government policies, backed up by all-out efforts of the entire government team, are focused at resolving the issues faced by the common man,” he said.
“Our policies have removed the deprivations of the marginalised parts of the country as we believe that Pakistan can move ahead only if each and every part of the country is included in the reform agenda.”
“We are grateful to Almighty Allah and the people of Pakistan, who support us in our endeavours to transform the country into a modern, developed and stable country,” Nawaz added.
The NA-153 seat previously belonged to PML-N’s Deevan Ashiq Hussain, who won from the constituency in the May 2013 general elections. He was later disqualified by a court and forced to vacate the seat, creating the need for the by-election.
The total number of registered voters of this constituency was 79,962. Some 276 polling stations were set up to facilitate the voters. To ensure foolproof security, more than 3,000 police personnel, along with army troops, were deployed outside polling stations.
The process of polling started at 8am Thursday and lasted till 5pm. Voter turnout was low due to rain, which prevented the voters from reaching polling stations.
