Shehbaz, Maryam felicitate winner of Chakwal by-poll

• Unofficial results show PML-N’s Haider Sultan wins PP-20 by-poll

LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan Muslim League-N leader Maryam Nawaz congratulated party’s candidate Haider Sultan over his success in by-election of the PP-20 Chakwal.

Chief Minister Shehbaz said that people have proved by succeeding Haider Sultan with majority that the PML-N lives in their hearts. He said that the success of the PML-N was a proof that people like policies of the government.

“The people have succeeded the politics of public service and the negative politics of baseless allegations has been rejected again,” he said, adding that the elements engaged in the politics of anarchy should learn a lesson from their continued defeats as the result of by-election in Chakwal was writing on the wall for those who are engaged in the politics of personal interest.

In a tweet, Maryam Nawaz also congratulated Haider Sultan over his success in the by-election and said that the defeated elements should realise that people now only want development and prosperity. “The will of the people is like a stream of running water, it carves its own way, cutting through any obstacle that comes in its way,” she tweeted.

“We bow our heads in gratitude to Allah for bestowing yet another victory upon us and humbly thank the people of Chakwal for believing in our party,” she said. Unofficial and unconfirmed results from all polling stations suggested that Pakistan Muslim League-N candidate Haider Sultan has won the by-election in PP-20 Chakwal-I by bagging 75,655 votes.

Sultan was followed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) nominee Tariq Afzal, who could secure 45,702 votes. The Punjab Assembly seat fell vacant following the death of MPA Liaquat Ali Khan. The process of voting started at 8am and continued until 5pm on Tuesday.

The by-election was seen as a test for the ruling party as the constituency has long been a PML-N stronghold, while it was also expected to serve as a curtain-raiser for the general elections later this year. This was Sultan’s first attempt at a provincial assembly seat, however, his family has held the PP-20 seat since 1985, losing it only once in the 2002 elections.

The constituency has a total of 279,530 registered voters, for whom 227 polling stations were set up. In the morning, DPO Haroon Joya said that over 1,200 police personnel were deployed for security duty, with officials of the paramilitary forces on standby, as 51 polling stations were declared sensitive.