Additional votes. Photo: AFP
HYDERABAD:
The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) appeared to retain its electoral supremacy in the PS-9 constituency bypolls in Shikarpur district on Sunday, as early and unofficial results suggested the PPP candidate ahead of his opponent by a wide margin.
The seat had fallen vacant following the death of PPP stalwart and former Sindh Assembly Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani. His son, Agha Shahbaz Khan Durrani, was vying for the seat on the PPP ticket.
The unofficial tally of total 178 polling stations puts the number of votes secured by PPP’s Agha Shahbaz Khan Durrani at 73,954.
His opponent from Jamaat-e-Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) Syed Rushdullah Shah secured 9,412 votes from the same polling stations.
Although nine candidates found themselves in the electoral fray, a somewhat serious fight was expected between Durrani and Shah.
Victory celebrations began on Sunday evening at the Durrani election camp. Announcements were made in the camp that Shah had even been defeated by Durrani.
As many as 277,792 people were registered to vote in PS-9 Shikarpur III seat which spans Garhi Yaseen, Madeji and Dakhan areas. They include 148,310 men and 129,482 women.
The Election Commission of Pakistan has established 80 combined polling stations, 49 each for men and 49 for women. Of these, 54 were declared very sensitive and 84 others sensitive. Over 3,000 police officers, led by SSPs from Larkana Police Range, were deployed to ensure security at polling stations.
Durrani, in a celebratory note, thanked the voters of the constituency for once again reposing their trust in the PPP and its family.
Shah, meanwhile, accused local authorities of colluding with the PPP candidate and his supporters to rig the elections. He also criticized the opponent for the disappearance of his two electoral agents from the Tarai polling station.
