- By-elections have been held on 64 national and provincial assembly seats across the country.
- In Punjab, Pakistan’s most populous and hotly-contested province, the PML-N outperformed the PTI.
- Overall, the PTI outdid other political parties in the by-polls.
From October 2018 to date, by elections have been held on 64 national and provincial assembly seats across the country, of which the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) managed to grab majority, 21 constituencies, followed by its rival Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) that won 17 constituencies and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) bagged 11.
Even though overall, the PTI outdid other political parties in the by-polls, a closer look at each province shows the ruling party only managed to put up an impressive show in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where it is currently in power. In fact in the northern province, the PTI not only secured seven by-polls out of the total 13 held, it was also able to snatch an extra three for itself which had gone to other parties in the July 2018 national polls.
However, it did lose five constituencies to other political parties in the province as well.
In Punjab, Pakistan’s most populous and hotly-contested province, where the PTI is also in power, the PML-N outperformed the PTI.
Here, the PML-N came out on top with the most constituencies under its belt. Out of the 29 national and provincial constituencies which were up for grabs in the by-polls held in Punjab, the PML-N was successful in 14, while the PTI won 10. Not only that, the PML-N also managed to flip five constituencies which had been won by the ruling party in the general election 2018. While the PTI only managed to snatch two constituencies from the PML-N.
There were no surprises in Sindh either. The results of the by-polls were similar to those of the 2018 general polls.
Out of the 16 national and provincial constituencies in Sindh, where voters casted their ballots again, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) retained its 11 constituencies, while the PTI retained its three. There was only one seat that flipped from the PTI to PPP.
Likewise, none of the seats in Balochistan changed hands.
