Daily Times

Seven candidates including a female have submitted nomination papers for the by-election on National Assembly seat NA-20-Mardan-1, scheduled to be held on March 19. However, no political activity is visible in the constituency for the upcoming by-election so far. Total registered voters in this constituency are 508,248 including 227,199 female and 281,049 male voters.

The constituency is vacated after the resignation of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MNA Mujahid Ali. Total seven candidates including PTI’s Mujahid Ali, Mohammad Ishaq, Naeem Anwar, Abdul Samad, Saeed Khan, Asfandyar and a female candidate Noreen Wadood have submitted their nomination papers for the upcoming by-elections.

The NA constituency consists of different union councils of Tehsil Rustam, Tehsil Katlang and Tehsil Mardan. The Election Commission has prepared a plan for the upcoming by-election in the NA-20. The commission has set up 366 polling stations including 114 male, 101 female and 151 combined polling stations. Deputy Commissioner Abdur Rehman was nominated District Returning Officer (DRO), Zia-ur-Rehman, District Election Commissioner, was nominated as Returning Officer (RO). A district monitoring team was also formed for the by-election including RPO Mardan range, Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner Abdur Rehman, DPO Haroon-ur-Rashid, TMO Rustam and other officials.

PTI candidate Mujahid Ali has twice won elections on this seat first in the 2013 and then in 2018 general election. In the general election of 2002, Maulana Attaur Rehman, candidate of Mutahidda Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), was succeeded by getting 51900 votes. He defeated the candidate of Awami National Party (ANP) Habibullah Khan by a margin of 37500 votes. In 2008, late Abdul Akbar Khan of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) was succeeded by getting 49000 votes. He defeated the candidate of Awami National Party (ANP) Haji Naseem-ur-Rahman by 22500 votes. Later on, he vacated the seat and PPP candidate Khanzada Khan won this seat in the by-election.

In 2013, Mujahid Ali the candidate of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was succeeded by getting 38200 votes. He defeated Khanzada Khan of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) by 11300 votes. In the 2018 general election again PTI candidate Mujahid Ali won the seat by getting 78,140 votes and defeated ANP candidate Gul Nawaz and PPP candidate Nawabzada Khawaja Mohammad Khan Hoti who secured 38,713 and 36,312 votes respectively.

This time, none of the candidates have so far started the election campaign, and majority of the political parties are showing no interest in the by-elections.