Lodhran (Staff Report): According to unofficial results, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate Iqbal Shah won NA-154 Lodhran by-poll.
PML-N’s Peer Iqbal Shah bagged 116,590 votes, while Ali Tareen got 91, 230 votes.
The balloting for the key by-poll began at 9am and continued without any break till 5 in the evening.
According to the returning officer, a total of 388 polling stations and 1,043 polling booths have been set up to cater to the 431,000-strong population of the region. Army personnel have been deployed at every polling station on the Election Commission of Pakistan's (ECP) request.
Ten candidates contested the by-election. However, a tough contest was witnessed among Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) candidate Mirza Muhammad Ali Baig, PTI’s Tareen and PML-N’s Shah.
The seat fell vacant after the apex court disqualified Jahangir Tareen for not disclosing his assets. The constituency is witnessing a by-poll for the second time in the last five years.
The ECP on Sunday sent out notices fining PML-N's Muhammad Iqbal Shah Rs 30,000 for violating the code of conduct and holding a corner meeting with his associates after the time for electioneering was up.
PTI's Ali Tareen has also been fined Rs 40,000 for holding a political gathering in Lodhran, which was addressed by PTI chief Imran Khan, after the time for electioneering was over in the constituency. The ECP had already warned Khan and Tareen that addressing a rally in Lodhran would be a violation of the ECP code of conduct.