File photo of PTI Chairman Imran Khan
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Sunday retained the Karachi NA-245 constituency, which had fallen vacant after the death of Aamir Liaquat Hussain, after defeating the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) candidate that had been supported by the parties comprising the ruling coalition.
According to unofficial results, Mahmood Maulvi of the PTI won the by-election with 29,475 votes against Moeed Anwar of the MQM-P with 13,193 votes. Mohammad Ahmed Raza of the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) came in third with 9,836 votes, while Farooq Sattar, who was contesting as an independent candidate secured only 3,479 votes.
The polling was, unfortunately, marred by low voter turnout, with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) saying only 11.8 percent of registered voters had come out to exercise their right. The win is being seen as a positive indicator for the PTI ahead of local government elections in Karachi, scheduled for Aug. 28, which are expected to be hotly contested between the MQM-P, the Pakistan Peoples Party and the PTI.
Polling was conducted at 263 polling stations, with few voters showing up in the first half of the day. While the numbers ticked up slightly in the evening, the total turnout remained a fraction of the numbers that had voted in the 2018 general elections.