PPP, independents share most Multan seats

Allegations of rigging cause standoff among supporters

MULTAN:

The Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPP) has made significant gains in Multan’s electoral battleground, securing half of the city’s six National Assembly seats along with a provincial assembly seat.

However, supporters of the PPP and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) gathered and began chanting slogans against each other, prompting police officers to intervene.

Security was tightened outside the local election official’s office, and supporters of both parties were dispersed. Police instructed the candidate Barrister Taimur Malik and Ali Musa Gilani to ensure that their workers return home so that the vote counting process could proceed smoothly.

According to the unofficial election results, two of the National Assembly seats were won by independent candidates. Malik Muhammad Amir Dogar claimed victory in NA-149 with a tally of 143,613 votes, while Zain Hussain Qureshi secured the NA-150 seat with 126,770 votes.

Read: Several PTI-backed independents lead

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) managed to secure one seat, with Rana Qasim Noon emerging victorious from NA-153 in Jalalpur Pirwala Tehsil, securing 95,114 votes.

PPP’s central leader Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani emerged victorious in NA-152 with 67,326 votes, defeating his independent rival Taimur Altaf by only 293 votes. PML-N’s Ahmad Hussain Dehar also secured a considerable number of votes, 57,989.

Abdul Qadir Gilani, the eldest son of Yousuf Raza Gilani, won from NA-152 in Shuja Abad Tehsil with 96,998 votes. His second son, Syed Ali Musa Gilani, also clinched victory in NA-151 with 79,080 votes after a tough contest.

Adding to the family’s triumph, Ali Haidar Gilani claimed the Punjab Assembly seat PP-213 with 42,404 votes. Additionally, PPP candidates Malik Wasif Mazhar Raan, Mian Kamran Abdullah Maral and Rana Muhammad Iqbal Siraj secured seats in the provincial assembly.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 11^th 2024.