Contrary to records from previous years, which saw only 25-30% voter turnout, this time, the voter turnout for the recent Punjab by-elections reached a record high, and saw 40-50% turnout in many parts of the province.
The highest voter turnout was seen in Bhakkar, where 65% of the population showed up to vote. The lowest turnout was seen in many constituencies of Lahore.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) dominated the by-polls, winning 15 out of the 20 vacant Punjab Assembly seats, defeating the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), who only managed to win 4 seats in what had been their stronghold.
In many constituencies, the PTI also won by a significant margin, the highest of which was in DG Khan, where the party won by 28,000 votes.
Other cities with major margins of victory include Sheikhupura (18,000 votes), Jhang (24,000 votes), Faisalabad (12,000 votes), Bhakkar (11,000 votes), Layyah (18,000 votes) and Multan (9,000 votes).
Unofficial results show that PTI won five seats in central Punjab, five in north and as many in south Punjab. The party lose one seat in Lahore, three in south Punjab and one in north in the by-elections that were held in 14 districts of the province.
This changes the composition of the Punjab Assembly and puts PTI in the majority with 178 seats as compared to PML-N’s 167. Taking into consideration their allies, PTI still remains in the lead, as its main ally PML-Q has 10 seats, whereas PML-N’s co-member of the PDM alliance, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has only 7 seats in the provincial assembly.