PTI retains NA-149: This victory is a defeat for the govt, says Dogar

Dogar announces to join PTI

MULTAN: All eyes are on Multan, where polls have closed and counting has begun. NA-149 had fallen vacant after former president of PTI Makhdoom Javed Hashmi had resigned in line with the decision of his former party. However, Hashmi is again in the race as an independent candidate against independent candidate Malik Aamir Dogar.

The ruling PML-N is said to have been engaged in an aggressive campaign to get Hashmi re-elected. On the other hand, the PTI has thrown its weight behind Dogar. Most of the time, this seat has been won by PML-N in the past.

Polling in NA-149 commenced at 8am today and continued till 5pm without any break. Dogar has cast his vote in the elections. However, Hashmi cannot cast his vote in NA-149 as he is registered in the NA-148 constituency.

Read a profile of the top two candidates here.



October 17, 12:30am

Flanked by PTI vice chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi, NA-149 by-election winner Malik Amir Dogar announced that he will be joining PTI.

Addressing the media after unofficial results were announced, Dogar thanked the PTI leadership for their support including that of Qureshi, PTI workers for placing their trust in him. He expressed his gratitude to the voters of the NA-149 for electing him.

“I thank people of NA-149 for electing me with such a heavy mandate,” said Dogar. He added that the result was not just the defeat of Hashmi, but also the defeat of the rulers. “Despite using all the government machinery, Punjab government was not able to woo voters.”

Congratulating Dogar on his victory, Qureshi said, “Winds of change have already started blowing and today Dogar has beaten the old system.”

“It seems ‘Rabbit’ has eaten the ‘Lion’,” said PTI vice chairman.

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October 17, 12:15am

After Javed Hashmi’s defeat in the NA-149 by-elections on Thursday, a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) spokesperson said that the voting pattern and margin of victory validates results of the May 11, 2013 elections

Read the full story here.

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October 16, 10:45pm

According to unofficial results, Dogar has won the by-elections by securing 52,321 votes, while Hashmi got 38,393 votes.

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October 16, 10:30pm

Javed Hashmi concedes defeat in NA-149 by-elections and congratulates Dogar over his victory, Express News reported.

The former PTI leader said he was rejected by all political parties and not the masses. “I stood in the elections alone. I do not consider securing 47,000 votes as my defeat,” he said.

He also thanked the workers of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz for supporting him. “I thank the PML-N workers, they really worked hard.”

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October 16, 9:30pm

Unofficial results from 220 polling stations show Dogar leading with 49,630 votes while Hashmi trails behind with 38,460 votes.

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October 16, 8:45pm

Unofficial results from 161 polling stations show Amir Dogar leading by a difference of 10,670 votes.

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October 16, 8:30pm

PTI central information secretary Shireen Mazari has said that results of the by-elections have vindicated the stance PTI had taken up in their sit-ins, Express News reported.

“Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif should resign now,” she reiterated.

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October 16, 7:50pm

Hashmi is trailing behind with 14,160 votes while Dogar leads with 22,162 votes as per unofficial results from 105 polling stations.

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October 16, 7:16pm

Unofficial results from 65 polling stations show Dogar leading with 12,348 votes while Hashmi trails behind with 7,734 votes.

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October 16, 6:50pm

“After preliminary results, it seems that the results are not in my favour and I will congratulate whoever wins,” Javed Hashmi says while talking to Express News.

"It has also been proven that Imran Khan and Tahirul Qadri should challenge the government through ballot boxes as all other ways will destroy the country and its economy.”

“Even if I have lost, I have succeeded in a way because this is the method I wanted to adopt,” he added.

“Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and I have not approached each other but their workers and supporters campaigned for me and worked for me,” the veteran politician said, expressing his gratitude towards the PML-N.



Express News screengrab of Javed Hashmi.

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October 16, 6:06pm

As per unofficial results of 26 polling stations, Amir Dogar is said to be leading by a difference of 1,973 votes.

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October 16, 6:00pm

The Election Commission of Pakistan has decided not to take any action against Javed Hashmi after his canvassing efforts in Multan seemed to have violated ECP rules.

According to an ECP announcement, political campaigns for the by-election in NA-149 Multan ended at midnight Tuesday since ECP had asked the contesting candidates to conclude their election campaign 48 hours before the polling day.

Be that as it may, a PML-N supporter, Azhar Baloch, dropped pamphlets on Wednesday from a rented airplane — costing roughly Rs40,000 an hour – in favour of the former PTI president.

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October 16, 5:18pm

Polls have closed in Multan and counting is underway.

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Reporting before polls closed 

As polling for by-elections in NA-149 continued, a scuffle broke out between Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz supporters on Thursday at the Shamsabad polling station.

Reportedly, a PML-N MNA Sultana Shaheen was visiting a polling station when she alleged that presiding officers were rigging elections in favour of independent candidate Malik Aamir Dogar by stamping ballot papers.

“I could not make a video but I have pictures,” the PML-N MNA told Express News. However, the MNA refused to share the images with Express News.

Her allegations angered PML-N supporters, who started chanting against the PTI supporters. The chants led to a brief scuffle between supporters of the two parties.

Polling has been put on hold at this particular station, and Rangers and police have been deployed to maintain calm. The Shamsabad polling station is among the 16 polling stations declared sensitive ahead of the polls.



ECP satisfied with arrangements

Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday expressed satisfaction over the arrangements made for conducting by-elections in NA-149 Multan-II.

"We have made all necessary arrangements to conduct Multan by-elections in a free, fair and peaceful manner," an ECP official told APP.

He said additional security personnel have been deployed at sensitive polling station to thwart any untoward incident while the necessary measures are in place for smooth polling.

For the by-polls, 286 polling stations have been set up, 144 for men and 142 for women. Eighteen candidates are in the run for the seat.

Security forces have declared 90 of the polling stations sensitive and 16 highly sensitive. To avoid any untoward situation 3,500 policemen have been deployed and they are also patrolling the city.

Rangers personnel have also been deployed at 107 A category polling stations, 96 in B-category and 83 in C-category.

The total number of registered voters in the constituency are 345,998 of which 188,208 are men and 157,790 are women.

Supporters of the candidates have set up camps to facilitate voters at different locations in the city. The offices of district government and schools were closed by the government to facilitate the voters to exercise their right of franchise.

Magnetic ink

ECP claimed that it has used specialised ink for thumb impressions on counterfoils of ballot papers in NA-149.

ECP officials said that this ink was different than the magnetic ink used in 2013 general elections. They also claimed that new ink would make it possible to verify every ballots cast in the polls.

To a question, the ECP secretary said that it cannot take action on its own based on media reports that Hashmi’s supporters distributed leaflets after campaigning stopped 48 hours before the polling day. He added that under the law, the district returning officer is supposed to take notice of such an action, who has already sought a report from DCO Multan.