The polling time for the election on a general seat in the Punjab Assembly has ended, and now only the members present in the House will be able to cast their votes.

The counting of votes will begin shortly. Early estimates suggest the ruling alliance’s Hafiz Abdul Karim is likely to win.

The seat had fallen vacant after the death of Senator Sajid Mir.

Claiming victory, chief whip in the Punjab Assembly Rana Mohammed Arshad claimed that Hafiz Abdul Karim had polled more than 240 votes, while the opposition’s Abdul Sattar received only 99 votes.

Rana Arshad further said that 16-17 members of his party are currently abroad and could not cast votes, but still, the government candidate won the election with a clear margin.

The Punjab Election Commissioner acted as the returning officer in the Senate election. The Punjab Assembly House was converted into a polling station for the purpose.

Rana Arshad was appointed as the polling agent on behalf of the PML-N, while Rana Shahbaz acted as the polling agent on behalf of the opposition.

The polling time was fixed from 9am to 4pm, and voting was held under a secret ballot in line with article 226 of the Constitution.

During polling, members were required to show their assembly card or the national identity card to obtain ballot papers. The names of the candidates on the ballot papers were written in the Urdu alphabet.

The House currently has 369 members against the total strength of 371. Two seats are vacant, and opposition member Mian Aslam Iqbal has not yet taken the oath. At least 184 votes are required to secure a win in the Senate election.

The ruling coalition enjoys a clear majority in the House, having 261 votes, while the opposition has 108 votes.

The PML-N has 229 votes in the assembly, the PPP has 16, the PML-Q has 11, and the Sunni Ittehad Council has 75 votes. The House also has 28 independent members.

Hafiz Abdul Karim was the candidate from the ruling alliance, while Mehr Abdul Sattar was in the fray from the opposition.

Two independent candidates, Khadija Siddiqui and Ijaz Hussain, were also in the race.