MULTAN, Pakistan: The people on Wednesday will exercise their right to vote in the by-election for NA-154 Lodhran, one of the four controversial constituencies where the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) alleges, massive rigging occurred in 2013 polls.
The polling in the NA-154 Lodhran-I constituency will start at 08:00 in the morning and continue till 05:00 in the evening without any interval.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Muhammad Siddique Khan Baloch and the PTI’s Jahangir Tareen are main contestants among 18 others.
A total 4,25,000 voters would exercise their right of vote in the by-election, according to the sources of Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). The ECP has established 303 polling stations in the constituency.
Beside police personnel, Pakistan Army has also been deputed inside and outside polling stations for conducting free, fair and transparent by-elections in Lodhran’s NA-154.
1,200 policemen leave for Lodhran by-polls
Meanwhile, around 1,200 police officers and officials left for Lodhran on Tuesday to perform security duty during the NA-154 by-polls scheduled to be held on Dec 23.
The police officials were sent from police lines Multan to perform security duty at different polling stations in NA-154 constituency in Lodhran, said a statement.
The NA-154 was among the four constituencies where the PTI had demanded for voters’ thumbprint verification, alleging that massive rigging was carried out in May 2013 general elections particularly in these four constituencies. The other three constituencies were Sialkot’s NA-110, Lahore’s NA-125 and Lahore’s NA-122.
On August 26 this year, the Multan election tribunal had declared the election held in May 2013 in Lodhran’s NA-154 null and void and ordered the ECP to conduct fresh polls in the constituency.
The by-election in NA-154 was scheduled on October 11 as per the election tribunal’s order. However a few days before the by-election, the PML-N’s candidate Siddique Baloch challenged the verdict of the election tribunal and took the stay.
But the Supreme Court of Pakistan on October 28 in response to the petition filed by Baloch ordered the ECP to conduct re-polling in NA-154 Lodhran-I, maintaining the earlier decision of the Multan Election Tribunal in this regard.
