LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has won the by-election on the NA-133 seat amidst a low voter turnout. In the unofficial results announced, Shaista Pervaiz Malik, candidate of PML-N, got 46,811 votes while her rival Chaudhry Aslam Gill, candidate of PPP, could bag only 32,313 votes.
PTI’s candidate couldn’t compete in the elections due to technical issues, and Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) decided not to take part in the elections. During the election, only 80,022 citizens cast votes. The total number of eligible voters was 440,845. The voter turnout was recorded at 18.59 per cent, with 898 votes getting discarded.
The NA-133 seat became vacant after MNA Pervaiz Malik passed away in October. He won the seat against Chaudhry Aslam Gill in the 2018 elections, who was able to get only 5,500 votes back then. After the demise of Pervaiz Malik, his widow Shaista Malik stood in his place for the election. His son Ali Pervaiz Malik ran the campaign as Mrs Malik is still observing her iddat.
Of the total 254 polling stations, 21 were declared sensitive by the Election Commission. However, the situation remained relatively calm. Despite the polling starting from 8 am and continuing without interruption till 5 pm, the voter turnout remained extremely low.