Showdown: By-polls in NA-245 on April 4

ISLAMABAD: By-elections in NA-245 Karachi will be held on April 4, election authorities said. The seat had fallen vacant after resignation of MQM’s Muhammad Rehan Hashmi from the National Assembly last week. The Election Commission of Pakistan issued on Monday the schedule for by-polls in the constituency. Candidates seeking to fight the polls will file their nomination papers from March 3 to 7. The relevant returning officer will finalise the contestants on March 17 after reviewing the standard procedures. Polling in the constituency, which traditionally has been the stronghold of the MQM, will be held on April 4th. Political analysts are predicting an interesting contest between the MQM and the PTI, which was the runner-up in the constituency in the 2013 general elections by securing 54,937 votes against MQM’s 115,776 votes. Jamat e Islami had stood third with 22,452 votes in the general elections.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 23^rd,  2016.