Former PM Imran faces popularity test in Punjab by-elections
Analysts say the polls give the PTI chairman an opportunity to gauge how well his campaign to garner popular support is going. July 16, 2022 Islamabad: Former prime minister and PTI chairman Imran Khan faces a popularity test tomorrow (Sunday) in the by-elections to 20 Punjab Assembly seats, which will decide the fate of the provincial government led by Chief Minister Hamza Shahbaz. Sunday's vote in Punjab is being seen as a potential bellwether for national elections that must be held by October next year, although former Prime Minister Imran Khan has not been elected since he was ousted by a no-confidence vote in April. A campaign has been conducted across the country for polling. Twenty seats in the Punjab Assembly fell vacant after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) disqualified Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) defector lawmakers at its request when they switched allegiances. These conspiracies led to a change of government in the province, which is now headed by Prime Mi