The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) emerged victorious on Thursday in the by-elections held across 18 districts in Sindh, including Karachi, where the electoral battle unfolded in six districts and one Cantonment Board. Of the 11 available seats, the PPP secured wins in nine.

Results from the Karachi municipal and cantonment board elections show that the PPP won four chairman seats, one vice-chairman seat, and four councillor seats.

The Sindh-ruling party succeeded in the chairman seat in Malir and Korangi while their vice-chairman candidate in Landhi also claimed victory.

The PPP has taken the lead by winning four councillor seats. The Jamaat-e-Islami secured one councillor seat while an independent candidate also claimed one seat.

The PPP achieved victories in councillor seats in the municipalities of Malir and Ibrahim Hyderi whereas JI won a councillor seat in Manghopir. An independent candidate emerged victorious in the Cantonment Board elections.

In the South district, the PPP completed a hat trick by winning the chairman seat for UC 13 Clifton. PPP’s Karamullah Waqasi secured the vacant mayoral position in Karachi, receiving 3,789 votes. JI’s Noorul Salam came in second with 847 votes while independent candidate Muhammad Babar Khan received 659 votes.

With seven out of eleven total seats won, the PPP remains at the forefront of the elections.

In Central district’s Gulberg Town UC 5, JI’s Irfan Shah won the vice chairman seat with 955 votes while the PPP Muneeb Hassan came in second with 592 votes. An independent candidate, Nadir Khan, secured third place with 351 votes.

In Hyderabad, unofficial results indicate that the PPP obtained two chairman seats and one vice chairman seat. Independent candidate Adnan Rasheed won the vice chairman seat in the same district.

In Sukkur, the PPP defeated JUI to secure one UC chairman seat. In Nawabshah, the PPP chairman candidates were victorious in all four available seats.

388 candidates contested 42 seats

A total of 388 candidates contested the 42 seats while 31 seats were already been won unopposed. The remaining four seats remain vacant due to candidates failing to submit the correct documentation.

In Karachi’s six districts alone, 85 candidates vied for seats while the remaining 20 districts have 303 candidates competing.

The distribution of contested seats includes 10 in Karachi, 5 in Hyderabad, 4 each in Nawabshah and Sukkur, 2 each in Tando Muhammad Khan and Sukkur, and 1 each in several other districts including Larkana, Qamber Shahdadkot, Shikarpur, Jacobabad, Noshehra Feroze, Mirpur Khas, Matiari, and Thatta.

The Election Commission designated 213 polling stations as highly sensitive and 50 as sensitive out of a total of 274 across the province. Security was heightened across all polling stations to ensure a peaceful and fair electoral process.