PPP emerges victor in Mirpurkhas by-polls

Seat fell vacant after demise of PPP MPA Jameel Bhurgari

HYDERABAD: Marked by a low voter turnout, the polling process in the by-election in PS-67 constituency of Sindh Assembly in Mirpurkhas concluded peacefully on Thursday with the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) emerging as the unofficial victor. According to the initial and unofficial results from 78 polling stations by the evening, PPP's Noor Ahmed Bhurgari was leading with 40,879 votes while Pakistan Muslim League-Functional's (PML-F) Ghulam Qadir Mangrio followed with 3,988 votes.

The seat, which fell vacant after the demise of PPP MPA Jameel Bhurgari, saw one-on-one contest between the candidates of the PPP and PML-F. However, nine candidates competed in the fray.

Mangrio alleged that the PPP rigged the elections. "In several polling stations, our polling agents were not allowed to sit," he claimed while talking to the local media. Noor Ahmed and other leaders of the PPP denied this and other charges. "The opponents are making baseless complaints. We are not using the official machinery," said MNA Munawar Talpur.

Meanwhile, the Rangers arrested a man, identified as Murtaza Khoso, from a polling station and recovered a pistol from his possession. Khoso, who is said to be an unopposed ward councillor of the PPP, was handed over to the police, which booked him in an FIR.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 13^th, 2015.