Karachi:
The secretary general of the Pakistani peoples party (PPP), the secretary general of the Sindh, Waqar Mehdi, was elected to the Senate with a clear majority on Tuesday, obtaining 111 votes against his opponent, Nighat Mirza of the Muttahida Qaumi (MQM) movement, who only succeeded 36.
The by -election was held to fill the general seat of the Senate which left vacant following the adoption of the first leader of the PPP, Senator Taj Haider.
The vote took place in the Sindh Assembly building, which had been appointed as polling station for the day.
According to the Sindh electoral commissioner, Ejaz Anwar Chauhan, the survey started at 9 a.m. and continued without interruption until 4 p.m. Out of 161 eligible members of the Sindh Assembly, 149 voted.
Two bulletins were rejected due to incorrect markings. Sindh -chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah launched the final vote before the survey window is closed.
The dominant presence of the PPP in the Sindh assembly, where it holds 116 seats, gave the party a comfortable advantage over its rivals. MQM has 36 seats, while five members are allied in Pakistan Tehreek-E-insaf (PTI) and Jamaat-E-Islami holds one.
The minimum threshold required for the victory was 81 votes, a Mark PPP crossed with ease.
The bypass election injected a rare political activity and a feeling of buzz in the premises of the Sindh assembly otherwise moderate.
Following the conclusion of polls, the voting count started immediately and the result was officially announced by the election manager and commissioner in the provincial elections, Ejaz Anwar Chauhan.
