ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan appreciated party workers for turning out and voting in the by-polls being held in Punjab.

In a statement on social media site Twitter, the former prime minister said he was “pleased to see our voters coming out to cast their votes in large numbers and resisting all pressures and harassment.”

He also urged others, including women, to come out and vote in the election for the sake of the nation’s sovereignty and “real freedom”.

“I want all those, esp our women, who have to still come out to cast their vote to do so as this is an election for Pakistan’s sovereignty & Haqeeqi Azadi,” he added.

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I am pleased to see our voters coming out to cast their votes in large numbers & resisting all pressures & harassment. I want all those, esp our women, who have to still come out to cast their vote to do so as this is an election for Pakistan’s sovereignty & Haqeeqi Azadi.

— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) July 17, 2022

PTI Chairman Imran Khan faces a popularity test in the by-elections on 20 Punjab Assembly seats, which will decide the fate of provincial government led by Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz.

The vote is crucial for the national elections that must be held by October next year. Imran Khan has been campaigning for early elections ever since being dismissed by a no-confidence vote in April.

The Punjab Assembly seats fell vacant after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) disqualified PTI dissident lawmakers for voting for Hamza Shehbaz as chief minister.

PML-N needs to win at least half the 20 seats up for grabs in Punjab or else they will likely cede control of the provincial assembly to the PTI and its allies.

The PTI claims it will win the bypolls despite the use of state machinery and rigging by authorities and the impartiality of the election commission.

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