DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf candidate Ehtisham Javed Akbar won the by-election held for Khyber Pakhtun­khwa Assemb­ly’s PK-68, Dera Ismail Khan-V, constituency on Monday.

According to unofficial results from all the 108 polling stations, Mr Akbar bagged 37,178 votes against 32,640 polled by Syed Murid Kazim Shah. Mr Shah contested the poll as an independent candidate but he enjoyed the backing of PPP, Awami National Party and JUI-Fazl.

The voter turnout was around 60 per cent. The constituency has 127,617 registered voters (69,003 men and 58,614 women) and 27 polling stations were set up for men and 27 for women. Fifty-four polling stations were such where both men and women were allowed to cast their votes.

In all, 13 candidates were in the run.

The seat had fallen vacant after Javed Akbar, who had won as an independent candidate, was disqualified by an election tribunal in a fake degree case. Mr Ehtisham, Javed Akbar’s son, contested the by-poll on a Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf ticket.

Published in Dawn, September 9th, 2014