Federal Information Minister Fawaz Chaudhary on Friday accused Pakistan Peoples Party of holding the whole system hostage to win NA-249 by-polls held in Karachi on Thursday.

The federal minister's remark came as the result was delayed for 10 hours despite a low turnout. Fawad urged the opposition parties to consider Prime Minister Imran Khan's proposals for electoral reforms. In a tweet, he said:

"The way PPP held the whole system hostage for one seat has further emphasized the necessity for reforms in the electoral system," the information minister said and added, "I urge opposition parties to reconsider Prime Minister Imran Khan's recommendations for electoral reforms."

Fawad, while commenting on the low turnout, said that it seems the public is losing confidence in the voting process.

PTI's Khurram Sher Zaman also expressed his dissatisfaction with the results. "The by-poll was rigged in collusion with the ECP and police," he said and added, "The ECP remained partial throughout the electioneering campaign. It absolutely failed in conducting free and fair polls."

Meanwhile, PML-N's vice president Maryam Nawaz accused PPP of stealing the election results. Taking to Twitter Maryam said, "Election stolen from PMLN by only a few hundred votes." She demanded that ECP takes notice and withhold the results.

"Election stolen from PMLN by only a few hundred votes. ECP must withhold the results of one of the most disputed & controversial elections. Even if it doesn’t, this victory will be temporary, and will Insha’Allah come back to PMLN soon. ووٹ کو عزت مل رہی ہے اور مل کر رہے گی"