Screenshot of a video statement by Mohsin Leghari on the polling day
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Sunday retained the NA-193, Rajanpur, constituency in the National Assembly, according to unofficial and unconfirmed results.
Preliminary results from all 237 polling stations showed PTI candidate Mohsin Leghari, former Punjab finance minister, securing 90,392 votes against runner-up Ammar Leghari of the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), who secured 55,218 votes. In third place was the Pakistan Peoples Party’s Akhtar Hassan Khan Gorchani with 20,074 votes.
In a statement, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said 11 candidates contested the by-polls. It said there 379,204 registered voters in the constituency; 206,497 of them men and 172,709 women. Turnout, according to the unofficial results, was roughly 47 percent.
Polling commenced around 8 a.m. and continued without any breaks till 5 p.m. Ahead of the polls, the Punjab Home Department had requested the ECP to defer the election over security concerns. However, the electoral body turned down the plea. In total, police personnel were supported by the deployment of 200 Rangers to ensure security, with the ECP warning that strict action would be taken against anyone who violated the election code of conduct or disrupted the polling process.
The NA-193 seat fell vacant after the death of Sardar Mohammad Jaffar Khan Leghari, who was elected MNA on a PTI ticket in 2018. Initially, PTI Chairman Imran Khan had announced to personally contest the seat, but he had withdrawn his candidacy after his lawyers argued that the ongoing Tyrian White case in the Islamabad High Court was irrelevant because he was no longer a parliamentarian and his declarations in this regard had no impact on the public.
Subsequently, the PTI had nominated Mohsin Leghari. His primary opponent, Ammar Awais Laghari, is the son of PMLN stalwart Awais Leghari.