Daily Times

PESHAWAR: In what was being called a ‘litmus test’ for the popularity of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, the ruling party candidate Arbab Amir Ayub on Thursday stood victorious in the by-election for NA-4 constituency in Peshawar, according to the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) newly-introduced Result Transmission System (RTS).

Unofficial results from 259 polling stations out of a total of 269, Ayub bagged 44,064 votes, followed by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) contender Nasir Khan Mosazai who secured 24,032 votes. Awami National Party candidate Khushdil Khan got 23,462 votes and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) aspirant Asad Gulzar Khan grabbed 12,800 votes in the by-election.

Celebratory gunfire coupled with dance on dream beats by PTI activists was seen outside the residence of the PTI candidate, amid reports that a boy was killed by the aerial gunfire.

With a virtual security blanket thrown over parts of the provincial metropolis, polling for the by-election underwent peacefully with large queues of voters seen outside the polling stations. Voter turnout appeared to be strong in the urban areas of the constituency as compared to the rural parts.

Peshawar Police SSP Operations Sajjad Khan said that around 5,000 policemen and 1,700 other security forces personnel had been deployed in the constituency to ensure peace on the polling day. The district administration had announced a public holiday in the constituency.

The seat had fallen vacant following the demise of PTI dissident Member National Assembly (MNA) Gulzar Khan last August, whose son was now contesting on the PPP ticket.

The NA-4 constituency lies in the south of Peshawar along Kohat and Bara roads, sharing a border with Bara tehsil of Khyber Agency, Frontier Regions of Kohat and Peshawar. The constituency was created following the 2002 delimitation.

Largely viewed as a vital challenge for the ruling PTI in KP, there were 14 contenders in the run for the seat. ECP spokesman Haroon Shinwari told Daily Times that 269 polling stations had been set up across the constituency for 397,952 voters, including 235,127 men and 162,825 women. Some 182 polling stations were declared the most sensitive and 82 other sensitive in light of the security situation in the constituency. As many as 147 polling stations were set up for men, 111 for women and another 11 were combined to facilitate the voters, he said.

He said for the first time electronic voting system was put in place at 100 polling booths on the experimental basis, while results transmission system introduced at all the polling stations.

Sohail Ahmad, Public Relations Officer (PRO) at the provincial Election Commission, said the ballot exercise kicked off at 8:00am sharp, which lasted till 5:00pm. “It is premature to speak about the percentage but we expect comparatively huge turnout because large queues of male and female voters are seen outside the polling stations,” he said.

According to Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) preliminary report based on the observation findings from 87 polling stations, low women turnout, unchecked campaign, canvassing around polling stations and suspicious voting patterns at 10 polling booths remained key deficiencies of an otherwise well-managed and peaceful by-election.

“The overall voter turnout is expected to remain around 30%, with women voter turnout estimated at just 13.8% against 41.3% turnout of men,” the FAFEN noted. Shabir Khan, a journalist with Mashaal Radio, complained media people were refused entry to the polling stations despite media entry cards issued by the ECP. Locals of Union Council-56 in NA-4 boycotted the elections over negligence by area representatives. They said no developmental works had been carried out by the government in their area so they have decided not to cast their votes.

Polling was suspended at a women’s polling station in Badaber after a fight involving workers and polling agents broke out reportedly over some men trying to enter the premises. The situation was under control as women police arrived and the polling resumed shortly.

Ten people were arrested from different parts of the constituency and arms and ammunition were seized from them, police said, without providing further details.

Published in Daily Times, October 27^th 2017.