NA-245 Karachi bypolls: Election campaigning ends today

KARACHI: The election campaigning for by-polls in NA-245 constituency have reached its peak on the last day, Bol News reported.

The election campaign will end after midnight on Friday, August 19. The polling will be held on Sunday, August 21. More than 15 candidates from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Muttahida Quami Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), Tehreeek-e-Labaik (TLP) and Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) are contesting the bypolls.

The leading candidates are PTI’s Mahmood Baqi Maulvi and MQM’s Moeed Anwar. The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has withdrawn its candidate Danish Khan to support the MQM. There are eight independent candidates contesting the polls.

MQM Rehabilitation Committee head Dr Farooq Sattar is also contesting elections as an independent candidate. TLP’s Muhammad Ahmad Raza and PSP’s Syed Hafeezuddin are also in the fray. Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan (JUI-F) had also withdrawn its candidate Aminullah in favour of the MQM.

A total of 263 polling stations have been established in the constituency. 203 polling stations have been declared ‘highly sensitive’ and 60 as ‘sensitive’.  There are 515,033 registered voters – 274,987 men and 240,016 women – in the constituency.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has decided to deploy Pakistan Army and Rangers for security duties during by-polls. An ECP spokesperson said Pakistan Army and Rangers contingents will be deployed as a quick response force from August 20 to 22. The spokesperson said that the military and paramilitary troops will report to the presiding officer in case of any untoward situation.

The seat fell vacant after the death of Dr Aamir Liaquat Hussain, who had defeated Dr Farooq Sattar of the MQM-P in the 2018 general elections by securing 56,673 votes.

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