From Zeeshan Mirza
KARACHI: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Sunday has felicitated his party workers on winning the by-election in National Assembly (NA) constituency NA-249 Karachi again after the vote recount.
In a post on the social-networking website Twitter, the PPP leader said, “After the recount we’ve expanded our lead to over 900+ votes.”
False accusations have been exposed and the truth has prevailed. People of Karachi have rejected selected and placed their hopes in PPP, he added. After a recount of votes polled across all 276 stations, Mandokhail got 15,656 votes, whereas PML-N candidate Miftah Ismail secured 14,747. This means that the PPP candidate was ahead of the second-placed Mistah Ismail by a margin of 909 votes.
When the unofficial by-poll results were first announced, Mandokhail won with 16,156 votes, whereas Ismail came in second with 15,473, resulting in a difference of 683 votes. The low margin of votes had prompted Ismail to petition the ECP to hold a recount. The ECP, accepting Ismail’s application for a hearing, issued a stay order, withholding the results of the by-poll.
Separately, Bilawal hit hard on Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government for showing insensitivity towards rising inflation and ensuing poverty in the country.
In a statement issued on Sunday, Bilawal said that the rate of poverty was dangerously on the rise.
