Frontline parties in Pakistan's ruling coalition scored a majority in this week's by-elections, which were overshadowed by a pending court ruling on the candidacy of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif for a National Assembly seat. Thursday's ballots to fill five National Assembly and 23 provincial assembly seats were marked by low turnouts and a few clashes between political opponents that injured at least two dozen people. According to the results posted on the Election Commission website on Friday, Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) won three National Assembly and eight provincial assembly seats, nearly all in the rich and powerful Punjab province, home to more than half of Pakistan's 160 million population. The Pakistan People's Party (PPP) of slain ex-premier Benazir Bhutto emerged as the runner-up, with its candidates winning two National and seven provincial assembly seats. The rest of the winners were either from smaller parties or contested elections as independent candidates. A by-election in a ward of the Punjab capital Lahore was put off by the Supreme Court on Wednesday after the federal government challenged Sharif's disqualification over his previous convictions.
