There was a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

in the Pakistani parliamentary constituency of NA-120 on 17 September 2017, following the decision given by the

Supreme Court of Pakistan The Supreme Court of Pakistan ( ur, ; ''Adālat-e-Uzma Pākistān'') is the apex court in the judicial hierarchy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Established in accordance to thePart VIIof the Constitution of Pakistan, it has ultimate a ...

to disqualify Prime Minister

Nawaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (Urdu, Punjabi language, Punjabi: ; born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani businessman and politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms. He is the longest-serving prime ...

from public office.

PML (N) The Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) ( ur, , translit=Pākistān Muslim Līg (Nūn) PML(N) or PML-N) is a centre-right and liberal conservative political party in Pakistan. Alongside the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Peoples Part ...

candidate

Kulsoom Nawaz Sharif Begum Kulsoom Nawaz Sharif (Punjabi, ur, ; 29 March 1948– 11 September 2018) was a Pakistani politician who had been the first lady of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms; from 1990 to 1993, 1997 to 1999 and then from 2013 to 2017. Sh ...

secured 61,745 votes and defeated

Yasmin Rashid Yasmin Rashid ( : born 21 September 1950) is a Pakistani politician and social activist who was the Provincial Minister of Punjab for Primary & Secondary Healthcare and Specialised Healthcare & Medical Education, in office from August 2018 till ...

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI; ur, , ) is a political party in Pakistan. It was founded in 1996 by Pakistani cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, who served as the country's prime minister from 2018 to 2022. The PTI is one of the thre ...

Background

Following the decision given by the

to disqualify

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

from public office, a by-election was triggered in his NA-120 constituency. Immediately, speculation arose of

choosing the current Chief Minister of Punjab

Shehbaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif (Urdu, Punjabi: , ; born 23 September 1951) is a Pakistani politician and businessman who is currently serving as the 23rd Prime Minister of Pakistan, in office since 11 April 2022. He is the current president of ...

as a candidate for NA-120 as well as

. Later on, however, Shehbaz Sharif was said to be continuing his position as Chief Minister of Punjab until 2018, ruling him out as a candidate. Subsequently, Nawaz Sharif's wife,

Kulsoom Nawaz Begum Kulsoom Nawaz Sharif ( Punjabi, ur, ; 29 March 1948– 11 September 2018) was a Pakistani politician who had been the first lady of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms; from 1990 to 1993, 1997 to 1999 and then from 2013 to 2017. S ...

, was chosen as the candidate for

Campaign

The main challenger of Kulsoom Nawaz for the seat was Dr.

of PTI, who also contested the seat in

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

. She ran primarily on the issue that Nawaz Sharif and PML (N) were “corrupt” and that they did not do much for the constituency. The

campaign was run by Nawaz's daughter, Maryam Nawaz Sharif, who claimed that the Supreme Court ruling was unfair and that Nawaz Sharif was the legitimate Prime Minister.

Result

Previous Result

won this seat with 91,666 votes.

Result

won this seat for

, albeit with a much reduced

majority A majority, also called a simple majority or absolute majority to distinguish it from #Related terms, related terms, is more than half of the total.Dictionary definitions of ''majority'' aMerriam-WebsterPTI and small Islamist Parties. , -

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2017 Lahore by-election 2017 elections in Pakistan By-elections in Pakistan September 2017 events in Pakistan