ECP releases preliminary polling scheme for NA-133 by-polls

ECP releases preliminary polling scheme for NA-133 by-polls

ECP releases preliminary polling scheme for NA-133 by-polls

The premier says directly elected tehsil nazims will improve governance and create future leaders. Image: File

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LAHORE: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Monday released a preliminary polling scheme for NA-133 by-polls to be held in Lahore on December 5.

According to details, there were 400,485 voters, out of which 206,927 voters were female and 233,558 voters male, in NA-133 that fell vacant on October 11 due to PML-N Lahore president Pervaiz Malik’s demise.

According to the ECP, 254 polling stations would be established for NA-133 by-polls, out of which 100 would be for male and 100 for female voters, while 54 combined polling stations would serve both males and female voters.

Read more: ECP to place CCTV cameras at sensitive polling stations in PP-206, NA-133

“We will establish 831 polling booths in NA-133 ahead of the by-polls, out of which 436 polling booths will be for male voters and 395 polling booths will be established for female voters,” one of the ECP officials told Bol News.

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PML-N likely to clinch NA-133 by-polls    

According to political insiders, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate Shaista Pervaiz Malik was likely to win NA-133 by-polls as the constituency remained the party’s stronghold.

“Her [Shaista’s] husband carried out development works in this constituency and have managed to win it for PML-N in the 2018 elections. Now after his death, the ‘sympathy vote’ will also be with her,” a political insider from the constituency told Bol News while clarified, “It will not be a piece of cake for PML-N as Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has also nominated veteran leader Chaudhry Aslam Gill to contest from this constituency, and he is also making an all-out effort to win back disgruntled PPP voters.” 

PPP making inroads in NA-133  

According to political pundits, PPP, on the instructions of Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, had started meeting disgruntled PPP workers (jiyalas) and voters to revive the party in central Punjab, particularly in Lahore, by running a successful campaign in NA-133. The party had also started making in-roads in the constituency to win the by-polls.

PPP Central Punjab President and former premier Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, former information minister Qamar Zaman Kaira, PPP Central Punjab General Secretary Syed Hassan Murtaza, PPP Central Punjab Secretary Information Shehzad Saeed Cheema and Faisal Mir, along with other local party leadership, managed to gather support for Gill ahead of NA-133 by-polls.

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Recently, the PPP leader also visited the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) secretariat, which falls under this constituency, and met PAT’s Secretary-General Khurram Nawaz Gandapur, following which the party officially announced to support PPP’s candidate Gill in NA-133.

PPP stalwart Ashraf also managed to win the support of Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen (MWM) in the constituency.

PTI candidate Jamshed Cheema nomination rejected

The Returning Officer (RO) also rejected the nomination papers of PTI’s Jamshed Iqbal Cheema and his covering candidate, Mussarrat Jamshed Cheema as their [proposer] were not from NA-133, a requirement of the ECP for elections.

Read more: PTI candidates approach LHC over rejection of nomination papers for NA-133 by-poll

On November 5, a tribunal comprising Lahore High Court (LHC) Justice Shahid Jameel dismissed their appeals after hearing arguments of the petitioners, PML-N and the ECP.

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On November 9, PTI leader Cheema and his covering candidate, moved the LHC, requesting it to set aside the RO’s decision, following which an LHC’s division bench on November 16, dismissed their writ petitions against the rejection of their nomination papers.

Some political pundits also believe that anti-Nawaz or anti-PML-N sentiments might go in PPP’s favour as the PTI was not participating in the NA-133 by-poll.

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