Fresh date: By-elections in NA-154 Lodhran set for December 23

PML-N and PTI brace for another closely fought contest


Irfan Ghauri November 07, 2015
Election Commission of Pakistan. PHOTO ECP.GOV.PK

ISLAMABAD: The top election authority announced on Friday a new date, the second in recent months, for by-election on the NA-154 constituency in Lodhran. Polling will now be held in the south Punjab constituency on December 23.

The ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) are likely to go head-to-head on another hotly contested seat after the last month’s close contest in NA-122 of Lahore.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has appointed its regional election officer in Multan as the district returning officer to supervise the contest in NA-154. EDO Education and ETO Lodhran will act as the assistant returning officers.

Like NA-122, where PML-N’s Ayaz Sadiq emerged victorious again in October 11 by-polls, NA-154 was among the four constituencies the PTI had asked the government to initially investigate for vote rigging complaints after the last general elections held on May 11, 2013.

The PTI is likely to invest its full manpower and material resources in its by-poll contestant Jahangir Tareen – one of the wealthiest party leaders and also the PTI secretary general.

Tareen had challenged the May 2013 victory of PML-N’s Siddique Khan Baloch in NA-154 before the PTI began its infamous 126-day sit-in protest in Islamabad in 2014.

Earlier this year, an election tribunal annulled the results and barred Baloch from contesting polls over his dubious educational credentials.

The ECP in its notification said those candidates, who had filed nomination papers during the earlier schedule announced before the top court’s stay order, do not need to file fresh applications and security deposits.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 7th, 2015.

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