Ex-Pakistan PM’s wife on course to win his polls seat

Lahore: The wife of former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was on course to win a parliamentary by-election for her husband’s seat, which became vacant when he was ousted from office, according to unofficial early results.

The Supreme Court ended Sharif ’s tenure as prime minister and banned him from holding public office in July following an investigation into corruption allegations against him and his family, triggering the by-election for his Lahore seat.

Sharif ’s daughter Maryam led the campaign on behalf of her mother Kalsum, the candidate, who is being treated for throat cancer in London. The seat has long been controlled by Sharif and his allies, but the by-election was seen as a test of the popularity of his party, Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz.

According to unofficial results from most of polling stations, Kalsum had secured more than 59,000 votes while her main rival Yasmin Rashid from Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party had bagged more than 44,000 votes.

“Today people have given their verdict over the (court) verdict,” Maryam told a jubilant crowd gathered at the party’s office.

“First of all thank Allah millions times because he has blessed your mother and leader with the success,” she said.

The unofficial results were compiled by officers at polling stations and handed to officials from contesting parties.

Election Commission of Pakistan will announce the final and official results later this week. — AFP