BAJAUR: A tough contest is expected between Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and Awami National Party candidates in the by-election on PK-22 constituency being held here on Thursday (today).

Political observers said though there were a total 12 aspirants in the race for the by-election PTI-backed Rahatullah Khan and Nisar Khan of ANP were the forerunners. They said Abid Khan of Jamaat-i-Islami JI also had a ‘strong’ position.

Observers said earlier, Abid Khan and Nisar Khan were believed to be the favourites as the PTI nominee also faced opposition from his own party’s disgruntled figures as three senior party workers were contesting as independent candidates.

However, withdrawal of the independent Mian Habib Gul from the election race strengthened Rahatullah’s position.

23 polling stations declared most sensitive

On the other hand, political observers said that the position of independent candidate, Najeebullah Khan, who was expected to get a sympathy vote after the killing of his uncle — former Senator Hadyatullah Khan — in a bomb blast last week, was still weak compared to his competitors.

Observers said though people across the district showed their anguish over the killing of the former senator, they would not vote for Najeebullah, the elder son of former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governor Eng Shaukatullah Khan, mainly owing to his ‘lack of acceptance’ among the people, especially youth.

Meanwhile, the local authorities on Wednesday declared 23 polling stations as the most sensitive.

Talking to Dawn on Wednesday, Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Anwarul Haq vowed to ensure free, fair, transparent and peaceful conduct of the by-election.

Mr Haq, who is also the district returning officer, said a total of 91 polling stations had been established in the constituency, out of which, 43 had been declared sensitive, and 23 most sensitive.

He said all the most sensitive and sensitive polling stations were located in mountainous localities, where special security arrangements had been made to conduct the polling process in peaceful manner.

Mr Haq said that besides policemen, Frontier Corps personnel had also been deployed outside all the most sensitive and sensitive polling stations to avoid any unpleasant incident.

He said that CCTV cameras had been installed at the highly sensitive polling stations to prevent any attempt of sabotage.

The DRO said that election material and staff had been dispatched to their respective polling stations through specially arranged transport amid tight security on Wednesday afternoon.

Meanwhile, a statement issued from the district police officer’s office said 1,300 policemen would perform duty at the polling stations across the constituency, which is said to be the largest among all the four provincial assembly constituencies of the district both in size and population.

According to local election commission officials, 12 candidates are taking part in the by-election on PK-22, which fell vacant after Mubarak Zeb Khan, who also won the NA-8 in the April 21 by-election, vacated it.

They said the total number of registered voters in the constituency was 107,910, including 79,972 women.

Published in Dawn, July 11th, 2024