Web Desk (February 12, 2018): Chief Minister Punjab Shehbaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz have congratulated the party on its victory in NA 154 by-elections and added that the people have proven that they support PML-N’s policies leadership.
The chief minister added that politics of sit-ins and disorder has been defeated and such politics have no place in the country.
Thank you Lodhran for your trust in the leadership of PMLN… It’s your victory… And we will continue to serve you… Congratulations to all the PMLN workers and our victorious candidate Iqbal Shah sb.
— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) February 12, 2018
Daughter of deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz, posted on social media that conspiracies against her father have been turned into his strength by God.
پاکستان کے عوام کے شعور سے مت کھیلنا۔ وہ مہروں کو نھیں، شیروں اور دلیروں کو ووٹ دیتے ہیں۔ جو جبر کے سامنے سینہ تان کر کھڑے ہوتے ہیں۔
— Maryam Nawaz Sharif (@MaryamNSharif) February 12, 2018
She added that if the people’s decision, when disrespected, becomes even stronger. “If their prime minister is removed, they too take notice,” said Maryam on Twitter.
Earlier, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) won the by-polls for the constituency of NA-154 Lodhran with clear cut majority and modest margin.
According to unofficial and unconfirmed results from all 338 polling stations, PML-N’s Iqbal Shah managed to attain 112,730 votes, while his competitor, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf’s Ali Tareen, contesting his first election on his father’s seat, attained 85,326 votes.
The seat fell vacant in the wake of the disqualification of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Jahangir Tareen by the Supreme Court in December 2017.
The government had deployed 4,000 security personnel, including army personnel, in the constituency in view of avoiding any unforeseen development and to ensure free and fair conduct.
Lodhran NA-154 by-election was organised after Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) disqualified Member of National Assembly (MNA) Jahangir Khan Tareen in a corruption probe in January.
Earlier, the polling process started at 8am and ended at 5pm.
In total, 338 polling stations were set up in the constituency, where 431,002 voters were expected to exercise their right to vote.Overall, a low turnout has been witnessed in the by-election.
The Supreme Court, in its judgment in December 2017, had said that Jahanghir Tareen had pleaded guilty to insider trading and ruled that he cannot be termed honest and stands disqualified for life as per Article 62(1)(f) of the Constitution.
Fines imposed
Both the candidates were fined for violating the code of conduct during polling in the Lodhran by-elections. Tareen was fined Rs 40,000 by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) while Shah was directed to submit Rs 50,000 as penalty.
According to a notification issued in this regard, Shah was fined because “as per reports received in the office of the DRO, Abdul Rehman Khan Kanju MNA/Minister of State appeared to have attended/addressed corner meetings for promoting election campaign of Muhammad Iqbal Shah.”
Ali Tareen was fined because “2018 Election Commission’s Monitoring Team reported to the undersigned that Imran Khan, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Murad Saeed and Sheikh Rasheed (all MNA’s) attended and addressed a gathering in the constituency in the presence of Ali Khan Tareen.”
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