The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) on Sunday won the by-poll for Multan's PP-218 constituency after defeating the PPP by a margin of over 7,000 votes, according to preliminary results.

The PP-218 seat had fallen vacant in January after the death of PTI MPA Malik Mazhar Abbas Raan.

As per the Form-47 (Provisional Consolidated Statement of Results) issued by the returning officer, PTI candidate Malik Wasif Mazhar Raan won the race with 46,670 votes while PPP candidate Malik Arshad Raan, who had the support of the PML-N, trailed behind with 39,254 votes.

Besides three independent candidates, also vying for the provincial assembly seat was Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan's Mohammad Israrul Haq Cheema, who ended fourth with 1,146 votes.

The counting of votes had commenced at 138 polling stations after voting, which began at 8am, ended at 5pm without any breaks or major disturbances. Voters who were inside polling stations when the voting time ended were allowed to cast their votes.

The voter turnout was 45.62 per cent.

In February, the PTI had awarded its ticket for the PP-218 by-election to Malik Wasif, the son of late MPA Mazhar Abbas. The same week, the PML-N had announced that it would support the PPP candidate in the contest for the vacant seat.