PESHAWAR: The candidates backed by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf won most of the tehsil chairman slots in six districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during by-elections on Sunday, according to unofficial results.

The by-elections for tehsil chairman slots were held in Chitral, Lower Dir, Charsadda, Mardan, Dera Ismail Khan and Kohistan districts peacefully.

In Lower Dir, PTI-backed candidate for Balambat tehsil chairman Shakir Shuiab defeated candidate of Jamaat-i-Islami Imranud Din.

However, heavy rain affected by-polls in the morning and noon. The turnout slightly improved when weather became clear.

A total of 979 officials of police and Dir Levies performed security duty at 99 polling stations. The polling remained peaceful. However, after the count of votes PTI and JI activists clashed at one of the polling stations in Rabat. Three persons identified as Shahabud Din, Murad and Abdali were injured when they pelted stones on each other. The injured were taken to district headquarters hospital in Timergara for treatment.

Three injured as workers of JI, PTI clash in Lower Dir

In Chitral, Syed Farid Jan of PTI won by-elections for Drosh tehsil chairman slot by gaining 10,902 votes while his rival Shaukatul Mulk of Pakistan Democratic Movement obtained 8,312 votes.

The polling remained peaceful but turnout was greatly affected by incessant rain throughout the day as most of the voters could not reach polling stations to cast their votes.

Tight security arrangements were arranged Arandu, Arsoon, Jinjirate Koh and Damel villages, bordering Kunar province of Afghanistan, where voters polled their votes peacefully.

The seat of tehsil chairman had fallen vacant after the resignation of Shahzada Khalid Parvez of PPP in November last to contest elections for provincial assembly from Lower Chitral.

In Mardan, PTI-backed independent candidate Mohammad Riaz won by-polls for the slot of Katlang tehsil chairman.

He got 23,573 votes and defeated PPP candidate Haider Ali, who grabbed 20,535 votes. The tehsil chairman slot was vacated by Mufti Hamadullah of JUI-F.

In Dera Ismail Khan, PPP’s Humayun Khan Miankhel was leading with a thin margin of 100 votes against PTI-backed candidate Haider Khan Miankhel in by-elections for seat of Daraban tehsil chairman.

According to results of 68 polling stations out of total 73, Humayun Khan Miankhel bagged 7,682 votes while Haider Khan Miankhel got 7,541 votes. The process of vote counting at the remaining five polling stations was under way till filing of this report.

In Charsadda, PTI-backed independent candidate Fazal Amin won by-polls for the slot of Tangi tehsil chairman by getting 9,961 votes while his rival Mohammad Ibrahim of Qaumi Watan Party got 8,671 votes. Another independent Fayaz Ali bagged 7,120 votes.

By-elections remained peaceful amid tight security by district administration. However, turnout was low due to continuous rain and people’s lack of interest.

In Upper Kohistan, Ghulam Said, an independent aspirant, was leading in the by-polls for Dasu tehsil chairman slot after the results of 18 polling stations were announced.

The seat was lying vacant since the Feb 8 general elections when former chairman Mohammed Idrees was elected MNA as an independent candidate. Four independent candidates including Ghulam Said Khan, Said Muzamal Shah, Saeed Jamil and Maulana Saddam Hussain were taking part in the by-elections.

According to the results of 18 out of a total of 25 polling stations, Ghulam Said was leading with 2,805 votes while his close rival Saeed Jamil could secure 1,589 votes. The polling, which started at about 9am, remained peaceful.

Published in Dawn, April 29th, 2024